Canberra’s famous Summernats will extend its reach to a family-friendly Fringe Festival in Braddon when the car festival returns next month for two burnout-packed days.
Across Thursday to Sunday, 6 to 9 January 2022, Summernats will be presenting all their greatest hits with a massive burnout master’s game and 25 never-before-seen elite builds being unveiled for keen festivalgoers to witness.
Andy Lopez, co-owner of Summernats, said the unfortunate cancelling of the 2021 program was a really difficult time, so he’s looking forward to bringing back the iconic event, along with all the fun and benefits it provides Canberra.
“It’s been a long time coming. We’re looking at a record number of car entries for Summernats 34, and as you’d expect after a year away, people are really keen to get back down to Canberra to the spiritual hub of Summernats and enjoy it,” Mr Lopez said.
“Braddon and nights at Summernats have a long and storied history of cruising and shenanigans, and we are proud to launch today, along with the ACT Government and particularly the City Renewal Authority, the first Summernats Fringe Festival.”
The Festival will be a managed occasion on the streets of Braddon on the Friday and Saturday nights (7 and 8 January) of Summernats, with Lonsdale Street closing down to host upwards of 200 to 300 cars cruising through the city.
Mr Lopez said the Festival will bring “a lot of life, colour, and hopefully cash to the hospitality venues here on the streets” and is something he would like to be a continuing part of Summernats.
“We hope to see Summernats continuing to spread its footprint in a safe and sustainable way around the ACT. I particularly want to thank the Braddon Collective, who represent both the residents and the traders, for their support and endorsement of this really exciting activity,” he said.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said it’s great to be welcoming Summernats back to the city in 2022 after a challenging couple of years.
“Summernats continues to evolve, and I think what we’re announcing today reflects the next logical evolution for the event,” Mr Barr said.
“There is indeed a long and storied history associated with this street and this part of Braddon, so it’s a really good initiative and one that we’re really pleased to partner with Summernats and the City Renewal Authority to achieve.”
Mr Barr said the event will drive “a significant number of new visitors” to Canberra, along with returning tourists.
“The economic impact is anticipated to be in the $30 million range. What we’re seeing across consumer behaviour at the moment is there’s a lot of pent-up demand with people not being able to access major events and activities for a while now,” he said.
“So with a lot of money saved across the Australian economy, particularly in the household sector, there’s a real desire to spend it on tourism activities and events and I think we’re going to see that in Canberra in January.”
Mr Barr said although the pandemic isn’t over, the high vaccination rate in Canberra has allowed events like Summernats to return.
“Our 98 per cent vaccination rate gives me as much confidence as you can have in a Covid environment. This community has responded extraordinarily well and Canberrans have been fantastic over the course of the year, so what we want to see is a really strong 2022, and that kicks off with an event like Summernats,” he said.
“One of our objectives of having a fringe event here in Braddon is to spread the business, spread the love across the city, and that will be a good thing not only for traders here but more broadly. The ACT Government is delighted to welcome Summernats back to Canberra for 2022 and look forward to this continuing to be a mainstay, growing, evolving, and diversifying event for our city.”
Summernats’ lifetime native Scott Abigail, said it’s good to see the iconic Canberra event back on the scene again.
“I’ve been involved with Summernats since I was a kid and it’s good to be back. It’s good to have something to do with your toys so they’re not just sitting in the shed,” Mr Abigail said.
“I’ve got a ’74 LH Torana that I bought six years ago. I’ve wanted one since I was a kid, spent all my money on it, worked on it for five years, and now it’s here.”
Chief Executive of the City Renewal Authority, Malcolm Snow, said the benefits of the Fringe Festival is about activation of the city centre.
“It’s to drive people here to not only have a good time in a very safe and family-friendly way, but to also support many businesses who we know have been doing it tough for many months. It’ll be very safe, and we are looking forward to what we think will be a really fantastic event,” Mr Snow said.
“The event will be Covid-safe, it will have traffic marshalls, and it will be one that we’re confident will draw in a greater interest of a wide demographic – everyone loves cars, everyone loves the excitement of seeing fabulous cars. I think it’s going to be particularly special.”
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