Overview
Last year over 80,000 people descended on the streets of Newtown for the capital's biggest open-air party, Newtown Festival. On Sunday, 8 March the free to all, family-friendly event is back, and will see eleven blocks of central Riddiford Street and adjoining side streets closed to vehicles.
The heart of Newtown will be transformed by 12 music stages, seven activity zones, a busking pitch, three fairground sites and over 420 stalls with food from across the globe, arts, crafts and hand-crafted treasures.
A stacked lineup of entertainment will kick off from 9.30am, and attendees can expect to walk or dance between seminal rap-reggae-funk group Upper Hutt Posse, soulful Wellington vocalist Mara TK, captivating Auckland folk songwriter Tiny Ruins, dreamy ethereal pop band French for Rabbits, Balkan brass troupe Niko Ne Zna, Dunedin surf rock band Koizilla, plus loads more.
Also on the bill: Polish dance groups, an inclusive community choir, beatbox collectives, high-energy circus shows, Afro-Brazilian capoeira and freestyle street dance.
Image: Newtown Festival.