Mount Hawthorn Streets and Laneways Festival

Mount Hawthorn Streets and Laneways Festival reminds me of Phuket or Kuta of 20 years ago. Back when the crowds weren’t so thick you could actually get around the whole place and enjoy everything. This festival, in it’s inaugural year of operation, is sure to end up as mental as Light Up Leederville and the Beaufort Street Festivals. But for this year, it was just dandy.
Mount Hawthorn has a slightly different demographic to the cousins Leedie and Lawley. Here, you have a larger collection of pneumatic strollers and the urbane new parents per capita. Thus, many of the stalls catered to the ‘chic kid’ fashion or were kid-​centric. Not to mention the abundance of feral kids crashing about the place. Why do boys always want to break things? Why are those strollers all so damn BIG? Why were there so many Toorak Tractors littered all over the nature strips of the poor neighbouring residences? *slap* Where was I… Oh yes, never fear, there were also enough food stalls other shiny things to keep me occupied.
The Paddo showed some boxing match on the big screen, which meant, while that was on, the food stall lines were relatively short. Once that was over, however, it started to get crowded. It paid to get in early.
A central stage area hosted a great variety of entertainment, from the local school choir, to some thigh slapping hoe down singers and my personal favourite, the GoGo Girls. There were rides for the kiddies, urban sustainable living displays, a Unilocal tent, plenty of seating, plenty of food options (all different, not the same over and over) and lots of good cheer.
As I said, I got in early, which I have decided is the trick to these street festivals. Because after a couple of hours, it was getting a little too busy and the lines were a little too long for my liking.
I think it was a good first effort and very smart that they hosted it later in the year, so as not to have as much competition with the cousins and other events. There is such a thing as festival burn out. The risk, of course, is the weather and yes, it did turn nasty with a couple of hours left to go. But I was alright, Jack. Because I went early and got home before it hit. Yay me. Did I mention my recommendation to get in early next year?