The popular foot-stomping Paekākāriki village dance and vinyl fair is almost upon us, inviting Paekākāriki and visitors for a vinyl action-packed day and evening at St Peter’s Hall on Saturday 18 February.
Paekakariki’s iconic radio station 88.2FM turns ten this year and its biggest fundraiser, the Village Vinyl Fair and its infamous Village Disco, turns three on Saturday 18 February. A daytime fair for vinyl lovers from around the Wellington region, and a floor-stomping village dance from 7pm with DJs past, present and future.
The Village Vinyl Fair will this year be hosted at St Peter’s Village Hall, an indication of how much it has grown since it began, moving for this year from the bowler. Co-organiser and vinyl addict Val Little says “the larger venue means we can offer more stalls, more vendors and more space for vinyl buyers”.
Doors open at 11am until 3pm and punters are promised a fun day of crate digging, live DJs spinning their favourite records, merchandise and a display of archival material from a decade of the radio station that boasts being ‘the coolest waves on the Coast’. Free entry means more money for records!
In the evening it’s the infamous annual village dance, which has had the ‘Full House’ signs up in previous years. After a cancellation last year due to Covid, it’s expected to be high-kicking. An evening for groovers of all ages it starts early at 7pm, for maximum floor action. This year there will be a range of special DJ guests mixing up the sounds with an eclecticism the village loves. Tickets are available from Paekākāiki Fruit Supply at $20 a pop. There will be complimentary yummy kai to keep the dancers well fed.
“The vinyl fair and the rave up dance are an important part of the fabric of our local radio station,” says Mark Amery, radio station co-founder and chair of Paekākāriki Informed Community Inc (who manage Paekākāriki 88.2 FM and its sister organisation, Paekākāriki.nz.) “All proceeds go straight back to the studio and equipment, ensuring quality music and talk all year round.”
“Over the last couple of years we’ve been able to upgrade our once-ancient mixing desk and buy new headphones, microphones – all the stuff you need to run a decent radio station. Crucial has also been the funding of our app allowing you to listen digitally anywhere on a smartphone. Search Paekākāriki in your app store. ”
Paekākāriki 88.2FM began broadcasting from a village sleep-out ten years ago this month, mixing radio shows with the birdsong from Kāpiti Island, care of village partner organisation Groundtruth. The station moved through several different locals’ gardens before finding a more permanent home in the old dental clinic at Paekākāriki School, where shows by the schoolchildren join those of over 40 DJs of all ages and musical tastes, hosting shows that vary between funk, hardcore punk, pop, prog rock and poetry.
“Fundamental from the beginning”, says Amery “was the recognition that the small village is actually full of DJs and people with great music”.
Party goers are invited to dress-up in their favourite decade to celebrate a decade of music, banter and local news and views on the village airwaves.
We’ll see the dancefloor devotees at 7pm on Saturday 18 February at St Peter’s Hall.
If this is you, here’s a fun fact – a person born in ‘45 was ‘33 in ’78!
See ya ‘round like a record!
For more details see The Village Vinyl Fair and Village Disco event listings.
Paekākāriki.nz is a community-built, funded and run website. All funds go to weekly running costs, with huge amounts of professional work donated behind the scenes. If you can help financially, at a time when many supporting local businesses are hurting, we have launched a donation gateway.
