Wonthaggi welcomes Laneway Festival

WONTHAGGI is counting down the days to its inaugural Laneway Festival this Saturday, April 1.
The truly unique festival promises to be spectacular with the laneways dazzling with fairy lights, neon lights, and festival activity.
Starting at the IGA car park, a main stage will be set up and some outstanding headline and local acts will perform throughout the night.
These acts include the Wonthaggi Citizen Brass Band and Youth Brass Band, local band Rough Edges, local funk, soul and blues band Captain Tasty and the Filthy Horns, Melbourne’s one man band and multi-instrumentalist Rhys Crimmins, former X Factor finalist Timmy Knowles, alternative soul and rock performer Kit Watts, blues artist Lloyd Speigel, and Australian rock ‘n’ roll performer Turk Tresize.
Wonthaggi Theatrical Group will also be performing numbers from its upcoming major musical Miss Saigon, the Wonthaggi dance schools will perform, and high profile motocross riders will put on a showcase before the Motul MX Nationals kick off in Wonthaggi on Sunday.
The festival goes through Jongbloed Lane, which will be filled with food vendors and free activities for children.
Pockets of “chill out” zones are scattered throughout the laneways with seating available, including pallet seats made by the Wonthaggi Men’s Shed.
Artwork created by local students will be featured along the walls of the buildings, showcasing some of the local businesses in town.
Drift Media and Wonthaggi Secondary College students have also collaborated to put together a multimedia project, which will be projected in the laneway.
The project features back door interviews with some of the local businesses, time lapsed footage of volunteers setting up the festival, and Instagram photos from the day.
While at the festival, be sure to take a photo and #wonthaggilaneway to be featured in the project.
The festival continues down Taberner Lane, where there will be more food vendors, plenty of variety with donuts, international cuisine, hot dogs, pies and coffee ready to be served.
The festival finishes at Apex Park and part of Murray Street will be closed off to ensure pedestrians are safe during the night. On Murray Street, there will be sidewalk chalk where people can “chalk the walk” and make the whole area look vibrant and exciting.
In Apex Park, the fun will continue with sideshow alley rides. A Freeza stage run by youth and the YMCA will be set up in Apex Park for DJs.
The Mine Whistle will come alive with fairy lights for the occasion.
In the lead up to event, businesses have been encouraged to decorate their windows. The best dressed window will win a mirror, which was donated to the Wonthaggi Business and Tourism Association.
Association president Dee Connell hoped the festival would continue in Wonthaggi.
“A lot of people have been happy and excited about the festival. There are no other major events like this that happen in Wonthaggi’s central business district during the year, so hopefully it’s a success and we can run it again next year,” she said.
The festival starts at 3pm and runs into the night until 11pm.

Party time: the long awaited Wonthaggi Laneway Festival will be held this Saturday, April 1. Wonthaggi Business and Tourism Association president Dee Connell is just one of the many hard working people who have brought the festival to fruition.

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Posted by Sarah Vella on Mar 28 2017. Filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry