Youth-led festival to liven up Laman Street

A sustainable swap-meet, art and activism workshop and exciting line-up of local live music are among the highlights of a youth-led community street festival taking over Laman Street tomorrow.

Organised by the Newcastle Youth Council, the Spring Street Festival is a showcase of social and environmental sustainability that is designed to encourage people to talk, learn and think globally by getting involved locally.

Being held in Laman Street and the ground floor of the Newcastle Region Library from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, 12 October, the festival will feature live music, vegetarian food stalls, local artists and workshops on a range of issues like fast fashion, urban farming and climate action.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the Spring Street Festival was about empowering young people to come together and connect on issues that matter to them.

“This youth-led event provides an opportunity to discover, connect and celebrate the incredible work that is being done in our community around sustainability,” she said.

“It will explore positive solutions that are happening right now to address issues such as climate change, gender equality and sustainable consumption, encouraging people to think global and act local.”

Sustainability has been used to inform every aspect of the festival, from the clothes, jewellery and book swap designed to combat fast fashion with a more sustainable approach to looking fabulous, through to the Enviro Hub where you can learn how to get involved with local environmental campaigns and maintain the momentum created during September’s School Strike 4 Climate rally.

Well-known local artist Quinn Squires (aka Real Salad) will bring his colourful brand of art and activism to the festival with a workshop on creating issue-focused art, while Newcastle Art Gallery will showcase the incredible talent of Newcastle’s visual artists with an emerging artists market.

Headspace Newcastle will host a chill zone with art, music, food and comfy cushions to sink into, five local bands will keep the festival vibe going with live performances throughout the day while numerous organisations involved in everything from gender equality and climate action to mental health and wellbeing will also host activities across their own stalls.

The Spring Street Festival is being run in conjunction with Newcastle Libraries, Newcastle Youth Council, CIFAL Newcastle, United Nations Society – University of Newcastle and The Y Project.