After tempting Canberrans for over six months as we all drove along Commonwealth Avenue, Westside, the pop-up entertainment precinct built from shipping containers, will be open to the public from Friday afternoon.
On Tuesday, Stomping Ground Collective, who have been responsible for pulling Westside together over the last year or so, gave us a sneak preview of what can be expected from this repurposing of the long-neglected futsal field.
It was great to see Kulture Break, the community-based hip-hop collective kick things off in fine style with some ig beats and awesome moves. There was plenty of action around the basketball hoop as well, with tennis player Nick Kygrios and BMX champ Caroline Buchanan taking to the court as part of a game featuring Chief Minister Andrew Barr, the Canberra Capitals and even some of the Stomping Ground team.
What was on offer was only a slice of the vision for Westside, with the plenty of works continuing prior to being fully opened for the Art, Not Apart festival on 14 March. Caroline Buchanan will be particular excited by the site of the BMX track coming together, and we spotted a bunch of exercise bikes primed for spin classes – showing that group activities are very much a part of the Westside vision.
A couple of the food outlets are ready to go, but there is definitely more on the horizon. We enjoyed the cold-filtered coffee from Lonsdale Street Roasters, however the shiny Heineken taps of the rooftop bar, Aviary, will lead thirsty guests to an amazing view across the lake.
Stay tuned for more of Westside in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to see what the completion of this exciting vision brings to Canberra!
For more info on Westside, click here
