Queenstown’s CBD - which is morphing into a giant construction zone - will be given some much-needed love this weekend, courtesy of Luma staff.
After the charitable trust pulled the pin on its traditional Queen’s Birthday event, held in the Queenstown Gardens earlier this year, it soon came up with a ‘Plan B’; taking the Lumify initiative from 2020’s lockdown, in which residents lit up their own properties, and putting a new spin on it.
Trust chair Duncan Forsyth says four key CBD laneways have been taken over by artists.
Each area will be a completely different sensory experience, with projections planned for buildings along the waterfront and Steamer Wharf, and performers on the ground and in the air.
‘‘We really want people to come out, take their downtown back, and get out there and go and have a drink, go out for dinner.’’
Forsyth says Church Lane will have a more family-friendly focus, while Searle Lane’s gone in a futuristic direction, with more interaction and aimed slightly more at adults.
‘‘Think Blade Runner,’’ he says.
In the Skyline Arcade, running between The Mall and Cow Lane, there will be a schools project along with an ‘‘urban aquarium’’ created by local artists.
And in a nod to Cow Lane’s ‘‘grungier past’’, there will be a ‘‘full-on experience’’ with later performances.
On Lower Beach St, Lumify is reverting to a more ambient and reflective style, with other elements dotted around the CBD.
‘‘We want it to be a journey - if you like, dinner and a show.
‘‘We really want people to enjoy what they’re doing down here in the laneways and then head off to all the businesses downtown.’’
This year’s event’s been ‘‘really well supported’’ by Queenstown’s council and funding bodies like Central Lakes Trust, Community Trust South and, ‘‘incredibly’’, downtown businesses ‘‘who’ve been hammered’’.
And while Lumify is a trial for ‘‘what Luma downtown may look like’’, any plans to expand the 2023 event beyond Queens› town Gardens is budget-dependent.
Lights will be on from 5.30pm till 10pm from tomorrow until Monday.
