Blacksmiths Lane to launch Places and Spaces this Saturday

Posted on 3 May, 2018

Queanbeyan can sometimes get a bad rap, but Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council is working hard to revitalise the border town.

Queanbeyan may be an unlikely setting for a laneway party, but the new Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) Places and Spaces initiative is aiming to encourage people to think differently about Canberra’s next-door neighbour. It’s looking to breathe new life into the CBD, which like many rural towns has fallen victim to changing times, most evident in empty shops.

Blacksmiths Lane, Queanbeyan

This Saturday 5 May from 3 pm – 9 pm, Blacksmiths Lane will be filled with a vibrant array of food vendors, lit with beautiful braziers and festoon lighting. Walsh’s Hotel will host a pop-up beer garden and there’ll be live entertainment by Adam Gear plus Bad Lucky Kitty, and interactive street art by local Uncle Cuggs.

Lining the food-alley will be Le Petit Breton, Deer Head Food Van & Catering, Brotherhood of Toasties; Cannoli Brothers, La Empanada; and Good Life Food from Braidwood.

The laneway party will also act as the official launch of a pop-up art retail shop in the precinct, in celebration of the Places and Spaces initiative. The shop will open Thursday 3 May through to Thursday 10 May from 10 am to 4 pm each day except Sunday and will be filled with products as part of a new QPRC program to encourage entrepreneurs and creatives whilst activating the town’s under-utilised places and spaces.

Lisa Maddern ceramics

The pop-up shop will be stocked with an assortment of artisan wares from artists such as Jacqueline Knight from Sodalime Glass Studio; Natalie Maras of Findi Flooshki; Lisa Maddern’s ceramics; Bandicute Designs and Bungendore-based Base Soaps.

Visit the Places and Spaces Facebook page for a comprehensive list of pop-up stockists or the Blacksmiths Lane Facebook event.

the essentials

What: Blacksmiths Lane party, and Places and Spaces pop-up shop
When: Blacksmiths Lane, Saturday 5 May from 3 – 9 pm, shop open Thursday 3 May through to Thursday 10 May from 10 am to 4 pm each day except Sunday
Where: 68 Monaro Street (Blacksmiths Lane), 58 Monaro Street (pop-up shop)
Web: Facebook event

Click here for more information on Places and Spaces.

Images: supplied