Who’s  involved? And what is your part?
The whole of  the Sumner Longboarders club have been involved in getting this going and there is a club committee sub group that have been focused on organising the event – I am part of that team. We have had fabulous support from local businesses supporting the Charity Art Auction and the weekend in general, the club is hugely grateful to Sadhana surfboards, Aumoana, Seventh Wave, Mainland Paints, the Headless Mexican, Signmark and Surfing Tribe for their awesome ongoing support.

What can we expect?
You can expect a great weekend, full of fun, good company and some serious fundraising for a really good cause – the Make-a- Wish New Zealand foundation on the Saturday night. Friday 1st March will be the Surfing Tribe & Sadhana Surfboards Surf Movie night at the Hollywood cinema starting at 7pm and $15 per person, Saturday 2nd March is the Seventhwave Charity Art Auction being held at the Ferrymead Golf Club ($20 per person) with all proceeds going to Make-a-Wish foundation and Sunday will be the Mainland Paints Old Mal team tag and BBQ from around 9am on Sunday 3rd March on Sumner Beach.

Can everyone come along, or do we have to be surfers?
We’d love to see some new faces and you don’t have to be surfers to attend. All are welcome but numbers are limited, with club members past and present already having registered for events so tickets are going fast. If you are keen to make sure you get a ticket, please email sumnerlongboarders@gmail.com or ring Pete on 027 250 0000.

Tell us more about the Art Auction….
The Seventhwave Charity art auction is a repeat of an event held 5 years ago where all items, typically but not exclusively surf or Sumner related,  are made assembled and donated by the awesome local businesses named above and our club members. All proceeds from sales will be donated to the “Make-A-Wish New Zealand” to recognise the great work they do in bringing joy and happiness to young children living with life threatening illnesses. As a club we recently lost young Ruby Hollingworth aged 9 from our club circle to a rare condition and wanted to assist by whatever practical means we could. We’d love to see lots of people come along and enjoy the night while helping us achieve a really good contribution for the foundation. The band the “Hot Funky Mama”s are playing and the theme for the weekend is retro so no doubt there’ll be a few paisley’s and hawaiian shirts (always a favourite) in the mix as well.

Kath, you are part of the Sumner Street Party Committee, tell us how this came together…
The Street Party was an idea mooted around the table at one of our Sumner Business Group meetings, an event that would attract visitors back to the area and show off our unique seaside Village.
It was a ‘sure lets just throw a party’ kind of idea… none of us are event organizers and none of us had any idea how much time it would consume! But it is fun.

What can we expect on the day?
There will be live music, street performers, fashion shows, great food, boutique beers and wine and all the craft stalls down the street. There will be an art competition whereby the attendees can vote for the next art work to go up on a double height container on Wakefield Ave. We want to link to the beach this year with a Sand pit dig down by The Beach Bar…. Loads of stuff going on this year!

Can the kids come along?
Gosh yes, they should organize their parents and get along. There is a dedicated zone for little ones with the bouncy castle and kids stalls, and the teen zone outside Fuse.

Will there be prizes?
Loads, but you have to dig for them… with your feet! Should be a laugh.

You are doing this on a voluntary basis, why?
Because it got to the point of no return!  No, its fun.. and I love Sumner, I want to see it flourish. Despite the crumbling cliffs, broken homes, containers and wonky road… I think we have something really unique here. Its sharing that love….ahhhhh.

Thank you Kath for your time! This will be an epic event not to be missed! Also a huge thank you to all sponsors and volunteers!