The spillover from thousands of car enthusiasts entering the ACT for Summernats is expected to bring in a much-needed economic boost for local businesses when the Braddon Fringe festival kicks off this week.
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But not all traders say they will benefit.
The festival will bring modified vehicles, live music and crowds of car fans pouring into Canberra's hipster heartland. Lonsdale Street, as well as parts of Mort and Elouera streets shut to regular traffic during the festival, which runs from Thursday, January 4 to Saturday.
The City Renewal Authority says last year's two-day event increased visitors to Braddon by 125 per cent, generating an additional $1 million in local spending.
This year, the festival will be a three-day affair from 5pm daily. A number of local traders hope it will help bring in extra revenue after what they describe as a particularly bad business year.
Among them is Dave Donoghoe, the owner of Trilogy Skateboards, who said the previous year has been the quietest for his shop. Business has been down by more than 25 per cent.
Mr Donoghoe said the festival would mean "a bit of extra cash" for the store.
"There's a lot of people coming from out of town, they want experiences ... they just want to buy a souvenir or something, so the extra people really help," he said.
'There's a real fine line'
Elemental Cafe owner Julian Fresi will be opening later but was still considering whether he would only offer takeaway.
He said the event was good for business but some people could also get rowdy, recalling how in its first year, one of his windows was broken.
"There's a real fine line of giving people that good hospitality, then people run away with it ... so we're sort of gonna play it by ear," he said.
Grease Monkey venue manager Rocco Mollica said the festival was the busiest time of the year for the restaurant, which has created specials like the Burnout Burger.
"The venue is packed non-stop until we close," he said.
"We'll definitely stay open longer on the Friday and Saturday ... and I assume we'll stay open a little bit later on the Thursday as well."
Last year's event had been "smooth sailing", but it had hired a security guard and would do so again.
'A severe drop in our regular clientele'
But further along Lonsdale Street, Pop Canberra operations manager Christa White said her business was planning to shut early, at 3pm, during the festival.
"That's when they're going to start shutting down the street. It makes it hard for our staff to have access to the street with cars," she said.
"As well as, we've found in previous years, a severe drop in our regular clientele coming in."
Ms White said that while accessibility was an issue, she also understood the value the festival generated for other businesses.
Last year, the cruise route inside Exhibition Park had to be shut due to unruly behaviour, which required police intervention, and there was some suggestion that created a spillover effect into Braddon.
Atmosphere has improved
The Braddon event was officially established as an extension of the Summernats car festival in 2022.
Susan Davidson, co-founder of community group Braddon Collective, said the atmosphere during the Summernats festival has significantly improved.
"Four years ago ... friends in the area sent me videos, showing people doing burnouts up the street, the street was full of smoke, people running in front of cars going too fast. It looked really dangerous, was really crowded," she said.
"The feedback even from the very first festival was that it was great."
She said Girrahween Street has been used as "a bit of racetrack" by some a day before the official festival began in Braddon last year. This was part of the reason the event had been extended to three days.
A City Renewal Authority spokesperson said they were not aware of any negative behaviour during the managed event.
"Extension of the fringe event to three nights recognises the successful delivery of a proactively managed event in the past two years that improves perceptions of Braddon and brings more people to the area," the spokesperson said.
Some unruly behaviour
But despite official controls, Hopscotch owner Nick Parkinson said there was some unruly behaviour last year, including throwing bottles.
At the same time, the festival brought in a lot of revenue "which I wholeheartedly support".
Police told The Canberra Times they did not have record of bottles being thrown last year but additional roads in the area were temporarily closed one night to disperse large crowds.
The spokesperson said police have been working closely with Summernats organisers for the upcoming event and were "happy with the efforts being taken by them to ensure the safe conduct of the event in 2024".
Summernats co-owner Andy Lopez echoed the sentiment.
"We have regular meetings with with senior police, with our contracted security and risk managers and ourselves of course. It's a very detailed and careful and well-considered security management operation," he said.
He said the festival was growing each year and security would be proportionate to the crowds.
Mr Lopez said this year attendees could expect to see "nice cars cruising and parking up" as well as "a really fantastic weekend from a business point of view".
He said the main idea behind the Braddon Fringe Festival was to extend the economic impact of Summernats further into the city.
Natalie Vikhrov
Natalie Vikhrov reports on federal politics and public service for The Canberra Times. Prior to this, she spent several years covering human rights in Eastern Europe, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Get in touch via natalie.vikhrov@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Natalie Vikhrov reports on federal politics and public service for The Canberra Times. Prior to this, she spent several years covering human rights in Eastern Europe, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Get in touch via natalie.vikhrov@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
