little DAY OUT

What do you do when your community outgrows its facilities? Throw an all day party! That’s just what Westmere Primary School has planned for April 5 this year, under the theme “It’s All for the Hall”.

It’s not just a co-incidence if you feel there are more mums out pushing strollers these days. The population growth in Westmere / Grey Lynn has been so great in recent years that the school is bursting at the seams. The suburb is in dire need of a community hall and classrooms are in such short supply that the school is converting its old dental clinic into two teaching spaces.

So the Westmere community is gearing up for this year’s “Little Day Out”. From noon until 6pm of April 5, the Garnet Road primary school will play host to some of New Zealand’s leading musicians and entertainers.

A confirmed supporter of the project is Jordan Luck, who’ll be belting out hits for his third successive LDO festival in an effort to raise money for the project. As the country’s first inductee into the NZ Music Hall of Fame, he’s conscious of the value of such public spaces.

“Westmere kids and the community desperately need a place they can call their own. I remember school assemblies being a huge amount of fun and a vital place for young ones to try their hand at the performing arts. I challenge my mates to join in and give a bit of their time for the next generation.”

Other performers already booked are Don McGlashan, as well as ex high school band AD/BC. Big Day Out production manager turned Little Day Out volunteer, Robbie Barclay has more acts to be confirmed.

There will also be a charity auction, with somewhat fittingly, vasectomies among the list of items up for grabs. “You might say we’re taking positive action to improve facilities” jokes School Principal, Carolyn Marino. On a more serious note she points out that at present the school meets once a week under a large canvas “supertop” and plans for a new building are hundreds of thousands of dollars away.

“As a primary school, we’re ideally placed to develop a hall the whole community can use.” she says “The Westmere Community Hall will be available to all sorts of groups after 3pm weekdays.”

Centre Manager for the Grey Lynn Community Centre , Tania Miller, confirms the desperate shortage of hall space in the neighbourhood. When the Grey Lynn Community Hall was closed recently for renovations she struggled to find alternative spaces for regular hall users. “My goodness it was hard – and in some cases, I just couldn’t get anywhere” she says.

The organizers of the Little Day Out clearly have a real need to meet. As well as a strong music line-up, and the auction, there’ll be fairground style events inspired by the kids with dunk the teacher and a talent quest popular last time around. So get along there, after all “It’s all for the hall.”.

Westmere’s Little Day Out, Garnet Road 12 noon – 6pm, Saturday 5 April.

Media:
For more details contact:
Anna Verboeket
Speak No Evil
Tel 027-220-7422