Festival to mark 350 day of action

A portion of Anzac Ave will be closed for most of next Saturday as entertainers, sustainability displays and Otago Farmers Market stalls mingle and spill out on to the roadway during the 350 global day of action, Dunedin 350 team members Jinty MacTavish (left) and Susan Smirk say.

A Spring Food Festival in Anzac Ave on October 24 to show the government the depth of local commitment to a sustainable fut-ure will be New Zealand's largest event as part of an international push to get world leaders to commit to reducing human causes of climate change, Dunedin 350 team member Jinty MacTavish says.

That event and other local 350 campaign initiatives had been picked up elsewhere in New Zealand and throughout the world, she said.

"It has sparked a similar festival in Wellington."

"Five Dunedin churches ringing their bells 350 times has led to churches in Christchurch and Wellington doing the same.

And Dunedin Olympic cyclist Kashi Leuchs is spearheading a 350 riders' movement which is gaining momentum nationwide and overseas."

The Spring Food Festival would be a combination of Otago Farmers Market stalls, sustainability workshops and entertainment by local bands, Dunedin 350 team member Susan Smirk said.

Anzac Ave between the intersection with Castle St and the entrance to the Dunedin Railway Station north carpark would be closed until 4pm to accommodate the festival, she said.

"It will be a celebration of local food independence and a chance to learn about things people can do in their own lives," she said.

"We will have a huge wall-hanging where people can write their pledges about steps they will take. It will be sent to government to show the level of local commitment and the need for commitment at a government level."

Sending a strong message to politicians ahead of the international climate-change forum in Copenhagen in December was vital, Miss MacTavish said.

"If we don't get a strong, binding, global treaty, a lot of people are saying this is our last chance to stop catastrophic climate change."

The Dunedin 350 Spring Food Festival
To mark 350's international day of climate action on October 24, Dunedin 350 has co-ordinated the Spring Food Festival, which is to be held at the Otago Farmer's Market. The festival will feature the following:

- University of Otago students will be handing out 3500 seeds that they have been cultivating during the past month.

- St Paul's Cathedral will ring its bells 350 times followed by Knox Church, First Church, St Joseph's Cathedral and Mornington Methodist Church.

- From 10am to 3pm. more than eight workshops will be held including cider making, vegetable planting and beekeeping.

- 350 minutes of home-grown entertainment will feature local bands Julian Temple Band, Yeva , Tono and the Finance Company, Mama and Sunley Band.

- Throughout the festival there will be an exhibition profiling local success stories and information about 350.

Other Events On October 24
- More than 200 surfers will meet at 10am at St Clair to form a circle in the surf.

- The 350 riders will embark on a 10km cycle ride from Thomas Burns St to the Vauxhall boat sheds. The ride, which will begin at 10.30am, is open to everyone and will include Dunedin elite cyclists Kashi Leuchs and Justin Leov. Leuchs said the ride would cater to all abilities and he encouraged people to bring an ice-cream container lid to be transformed into a green 350 number plate.