Summer streets to hit Glebe following success in Surry Hills
Image: The Surry Hills summer streets program (pictured) last weekend was considered a success. Tomorrow, the program will shift to Glebe. Photo: Twitter/Sara Stace.
By ELLA SMITH
Paella, empanadas and nachos will be on the menu tomorrow at Glebe Point Road, with the street closed to traffic as part of the City of Sydney’s efforts to boost local communities and businesses.
Ana Attianese, chairwoman of the Aid Migrants of Spanish Speaking (AMIGOSS), will be offering Spanish and Latin cuisine and sangria to people visiting the pedestrianised high street as part of the Summer Streets series.
She hopes people will come for the food, but stay for the dancing. AMIGOSS is offering three free half-hour dance lessons in salsa, bachata, and reggaeton.
The organisation was founded in 1975 to provide family-like connections for Spanish and Latin migrants to Australia. Nowadays, with the advent of the internet and social media, “it’s not as useful as before to have a new family here,” Ms Attianese said.
She says that the Sunday event will provide much-needed engagement with the community, particularly younger generations.
“It’s a big opportunity for us to get more visibility, and also more services to the community. Knowing the community will [help to understand] what the community wants,” she said.
The pandemic significantly diminished the organisation’s activities; while their childcare kept running, workshops spanning food, cinema, art, language and counselling were “impossible” to do online.
Street success
Businesses in Glebe are hoping for the success and sunshine of last weekend’s Summer Streets event at Surry Hills.
Caroline Butler-Bowdon, Executive Director of Public Places at the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE), visited the high street.
“Everywhere you looked there was energy on the street with smiling faces, people dining alfresco and people dancing to live music,” she said.
— Sara Stace (@sara_stace) February 6, 2022