Street Fair goes off ... calls to make it monthly
Sawitree Thumwong, Aaron Hellinga and Mitch Seidl are all smiles.
Josh Ebbstein, Debbie Townsend, Kate Ebbstein and Hamish Ebbstein all from Nambour.
The Nambour Street Fair on Saturday was hailed as such a success that organisers want to make it a monthly event.
The event, billed as a festival of food, saw Club Hotel Namba and the Royal George join forces with Tramco’s regular TramFest and Council’s Curated Plate. It featured street food, drinks, bands and entertainment – and thousands of people.
Tramco’s Rhonda Billett estimated that more than 5000 people funnelled through Mill Street, which was closed for the day from Currie Street to the Tram Terminus. Even Small Change Espresso, which used the occasion to open at night for the first time, was packed out. Punters also flooded the Club Hotel Namba and the Royal George, across the road.
“It takes a lot of conversations, a lot of council funding and a lot of volunteers to put events like this on for Nambour,” said Rhonda. “However, the economic benefits are very significant, and it is just something that we cannot overlook.
“Foot traffic in the Nambour CBD on Saturday was unlike anything the town has seen in years with a combination of the Swap Meet at the Show Grounds in the morning and then the Street Fair on from 12pm in the CBD.
“Every hospitality venue in the CBD was full and busy. The vibe was exceptional.
“We will discuss these types of maxi-sized CBD events in our next Nambour Groups meeting and see how we can keep these types of events in the calendar.”
The next Tram Fest is set for Saturday December 9. “And we will work very hard with our board and the surrounding businesses to make it fun.”
Paul Harley from the Club Hotel Namba was thrilled. He said every food vendor he spoke to was pleased and agreed he would like to see it become a monthly event.
“All of them got their fair share of turnover and they would love to do it once a month. It was our biggest day in the bar, ever. Outside, the face painting lady painted over 200 kids. Our beer garden went well. That was the biggest hit.
“We want to help bring that community family spirit back.
“Next time we could even get some shuttle buses collecting people from nominated stops in a loop around the hinterland.”
He said Nambour, and the CBD in particular, needed just such an injection of life to get people into the habit of going into town for a meal.
“We know people will love our pub if they just come down and try us, but they have to come in first,” he said. “So we were over the moon. It was standing room only.”
Div 10 Cr David Law said businesses and market stall holders were thrilled with the turnout and their takings, and “we would love to see more Namba events like this in the future”.
“The Curated Plate Namba Street Fair was a fabulous event that saw the community come out in the thousands to enjoy free live music, craft beer, gin, international street vendors and loads of free family entertainment.”
Success: TramCo’s Greg Rogerson and Rhonda Billett.
Santiago Finnerty, Bassy Finnerty and Piri Pairama.
Manning the bar at TramCo were Darren Sheppard, Peter Clark, Mandy Day and Ron King.
Nambour Senior Constables Matt Thornton and Carlie Morley took a stroll at the tram fest before going back on patrol.
Bridie Sheppard, Thea Sheppard, Matilda Spencer and Harriet Spencer.
Jade, Raphael, Josie, & Makai Gushtaspi from Nambour at the street party.
Natalie Brown, Sasha Vonarx, Alec Vonarx and Graeme Brown at the Club Hotel Namba.
John, Louie, Debbie, and Josie Cupello catch up at the Club Hotel Namba.