With a working title of “Sprung Festival” and set to take place in September, this event will see Port Kembla come to life, as day turns to night. It will include an evening of family fun, featuring lighting effects, projections, on-street dining, live music and roving entertainment.
Responding to the cost-of-living crisis, entry to this event will be free, bringing locals together for budget busting, family-friendly fun.
The Port Kembla event is one of 130 regional and metro events funded by the Open Streets program which aims to activate local streets and public spaces, boost vibrancy and visitor numbers to local communities and businesses. Other events include winter festivals, Christmas festivals, food markets, live music, street parades and arts events.
Applications for local councils across NSW opened earlier this year, with the program so popular that the original funding pool was increased from $4.7 million to $8.7 million. Funding amounts range from $7,000 to $150,000 to support the temporary closure of streets for placemaking activations for people.
Wollongong City Council was one of 73 NSW councils to receive funding under the program.
Open Streets is part of the NSW Government’s Vibrant Streets Package, now a $19.7 million investment to inject vibrancy into our streets and local spaces.
For more information on the Open Streets program visit Transport for NSW’s Open Streets webpage.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, and Member for Wollongong, Paul Scully said:
"Congratulations to Wollongong City Council on securing funding under the NSW Government’s Open Streets program.
“This event will help to deliver a much-needed injection into the Port Kembla CBD while bringing the community together for an evening full of fun and festivities.
“The cost-of-living crisis is impacting so many local households. This funding will help to deliver a wonderful event, that will not only support the local business community in Port Kembla but will also be free.”
Minister for Roads, Arts, Music and the Night-Time Economy, Jobs and Tourism John Graham said:
“We’re excited to support this event in Port Kembla.
“Too often our main streets are something we drive through, rather than drive to. Our streets are a critical part of our public and social infrastructure. Great streets make great towns and centres and reflect the local community and culture.
“The Open Streets program is about temporarily transforming our main streets into vibrant and welcoming public event spaces.
“The colour and diversity of these 130 events celebrates the unique personality of each town or suburb. This is what our vibrancy agenda is all about, backing locals to create events and entertainment that works for their local community.”
