This weekend, a new basketball competition lands in Griffith.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Champions League Basketball's 3X3 competition is all about frenetic play in 10 minutes for teams of three people.
No doubt the corner of Banne and Jondaryan Avenues will be packed with spectators and players alike.
Never mind a boring, static rose garden - this should be a warm welcome to the city.
However, what's most exciting about the Champions League Basketball's visit is not just the sport but the fact it's part of the Street Scapes event.
Billed as a celebration of the city, the outdoor cultural experience has the potential to become a permanent fixture on the social calendar.
Building off the Banna Lane Festival last week, it brings together new ideas and is a way of attracting people to the city's main street.
Seeing giant artworks adorne buildings, light projections on the sides of others or even a burger van parked in Kooyoo Street might seem a little surreal.
But for those who spent a fair bit of time hiding in lockdown, even getting out to places where there's the potential of hundreds of people might even feel a little surreal.
Bringing people back to the city after the pandemic is absolutely a goal worth achieving but it's also a chance to highlight the relaxed lifestyle we all enjoy here.
This is Griffith's chance to prove that something that works in many other places - like Wagga Wagga's Hidden Lanes or Multicultural festivals or Canberra's Enlighten Festival can work here.
It's all be possible thanks to some government funding grants plus businesses and community members pitching in to complement a few main events which have been organised.
Businesses which have set up for the events aren't just doing it for the fun of it and the risk they take to set up in Kooyoo Street for a week, or to work extra hours as Banna Lane is lit up should be rewarded.
We all want to see a vibrant Griffith with a great lifestyle and this is part of Griffith's City Council's efforts to deliver it.
But as ever, council's job is about facilitation rather than delivering things unilaterally.
It's up to us, the community to ensure the events are a success so we can see the events return for next year, bigger and better.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.areanews.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News