Mackay’s City Centre is set to burst into life this May with SPARK! Wood Street.
This creative community pop-up will transform the old cinema car park on Wood and Gordon streets into a vibrant space for connection, creativity and culture.
Running from May 9 to 16, SPARK! Wood Street invites the Mackay community to come together to celebrate, create and imagine new possibilities for our City Centre and Waterfront.
Over the launch weekend, the site will be buzzing with live music, art, food, kids' activities, workshops and pop-up performances – all free to attend, with a small selection of optional paid experiences.
Mayor Greg Williamson said the festivities would be mostly centred around the Friday, Saturday and Sunday (May 9 to 11), but the SPARK! site would remain open through the week until May 16.
“After the weekend, the space will offer a relaxed area for people to enjoy shady seating, tables and daily Lunchbox Concerts featuring live acoustic performances from noon to 2pm – perfect for a lunchtime break in the City Centre,” he said.
Mayor Williamson said SPARK! was the culmination of an extensive community engagement campaign around the revitalisation of the City Centre and Waterfront.
“Council is currently working on the Mackay Waterfront Place Strategy which involved a considerable amount of stakeholder engagement,” he said.
“This engagement journey was different from past projects – engagement organically transformed into enthusiast collaboration.
“Stakeholders were so passionate about their City Centre and Waterfront, that they didn’t just want to ‘have their say’ – they wanted to get involved.
“SPARK! aims to build on that enthusiasm and positive energy to launch the strategy and kickstart future revitalisation and activation projects.”
SPARK! will be buzzing over the launch weekend with the following activities and offerings:
On Friday, May 9, the festivities kick off from 4pm with live music lighting up the stage until 9pm and Noona’s Woodfired Pizza firing up the oven to cater your Friday night dinner.
Bring the kids for free facepainting or let them burn off some energy at Harper Bee’s free Glow-in-the-Dark Disco!
For the paid options, if you’re feeling creative, have a go at the Bottletops and Brushes quickie outdoor Paint and Sip session or, for the more adventurous, let loose with Osmic Production’s silent disco where you can dance like no-one’s watching to bangers from across the decades (just $10).
Saturday, May 10 – live music all day
Groove to live music from across the world, feast on delicious street food and soak up the festival atmosphere, including an immersive 9D audio journey and high-energy drumming workshop, pipes, ukuleles, k-pop and much more!
Kids can run away to the circus with free circus skills workshops from Sensory Circus alongside free face painting, dive into colourful crafts at the free Yarn Bomb session, try t-shirt upcycling or sort a last-minute gift with Mother’s Day Flower Making.
For the paid options, creative spirits can join an earring-making workshop or make your own beaded suncatcher. If you’re a budding model or amateur photographer, you can register for the Photo Swap event to share skills and build your portfolio.
On Sunday, May 11, the site becomes a celebration of mums for Mother’s Day.
Bring the family for a full day of live music from 9am to 5pm, with plenty of opportunities to treat the mums in your life and activities to keep the kids entertained. Free face painting will be available. Families can create collaborative art pieces in the community collage zone, upcycle old t-shirts in the Kids Zone workshop from 3pm to 4pm, or get creative with free glitter tattoos.
Create the perfect unique Mother’s Day gift with a personalised poem from Miki Ponting-Boyd – just give her some key words and Miki can create an impromptu poem just for you.
There’ll be tasty snacks available throughout the day, including a morning coffee van, afternoon ice cream truck from Mudpuddles and a special appearance from the delicious Filipino Kuisine.
Event details:
When: Launch weekend May 9 - 11 | Site open daily until May 16
Where: Old cinema car park, corner of Wood Street and Gordon Street
Cost: Free entry, all welcome! (some events require bookings)
Join us for a week of creativity, connection and celebration — and help spark the future of Mackay!
For updates and full program info, visit SPARK! Wood Street | Mackay Waterfront
Publishers Indemnity. Any individual or entity that places advertising, supplies copy material, or submits editorial content to Core Life Publishing agrees and undertakes to ensure that all such material:- Does not infringe upon any copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights;- Is free from any content that could be considered defamatory, libelous, or slanderous;- Does not infringe upon any rights related to privacy or breach of confidence;- Contains no obscene, indecent, or otherwise unlawful material;- Complies fully with the Trade Practices Act and all other applicable laws, regulations, or statutes.Furthermore, by submitting or placing such material, these individuals or entities agree to indemnify and hold harmless the publisher, Core Publishing and Events Pty Ltd, and/or its agents from and against any and all investigations, claims, demands, liabilities, damages, costs, or judgments arising out of or in connection with the material provided. All material is believed to be accurate at the time of printing and remains the copyright of Core Publishing and Events Pty Ltd.
© 2024 Mackay and Whitsunday Life Pty Ltd.
