Newtown Street Fair 2016

There's no doubt about it: Newtown is one crazy cool suburb. And on March 6th, the rest of Wellington gets to experience the craziness themselves at the Newtown Street fair, one of New Zealand's biggest street fairs. It's grown steadily every year since the first in 1995, and each year the fair gets a little groovier. With an all ages vibe and completely free, everyone's invited.

The fair is well and truly at the heart of the suburb, with the central eleven blocks of Newtown blocked to traffic to allow eighty thousand Wellingtonians to descend. It's quite a sight- Newtown transformed, its usual vibrancy on a crazier scale. Their amazing cafes, record stores, opshops and restaurants will be joined by some four hundred stalls, a mix of crafty types, community groups and international foods to try. Buskers and street performers aplenty will provide your entertainment, along with wild street parades and spontaneous dances struck up in the street between strangers. The vibe is infectious, and you'll find yourself swept up in the excitement.

Along with all of this street craziness, the music side of the fair is worth coming for alone. Welly has some talented types, and they'll be showcased across ten stages scattered across the fair. It's a source of real talent- big groups like Fat Freddy's Drop and the Phoenix Foundation played some of their first gigs in these spots.

Pray for a banger Welly day and come along, making sure to check out the music timetable and the list of stall holders to map out your day- or just keep it spontaneous. See you there Newtown!