Potters Park

The first ASIAN(SOUND)SCAPES was a free, family-friendly, two-day buskers festival — over one hundred Pan-Asian-Kiwi musicians, artists and performers filling Potters Park from ten in the morning until four in the afternoon, both days, rain or shine. Pulled together in a six-week production sprint, the weekend ended up engaging more than 130 Asian musicians and performers — including a full Hindustani music set, a karaoke station, and a thirty-piece traditional Chinese orchestra from the New Zealand Blossom Art Troupe 新西兰百花艺术团.

Saturday belonged to Street Talk’s “Pop, Lock & Break it” — 3v3 crew battles across breaking, popping and locking on the basketball court, with nine crews and $888 on the line. Sunday, Papaya Stories led a silent disco citywalk through the park. In between: stand-up comedy by Pan-Asian comics, Tai Chi group workshops, spoken word, storytellers, superhero readings, and a rolling bill of singer-songwriters, virtuosos and bands.

The brief to the crowd said it best: dress up in your best raincoat and gumboots, bring a seat, your friends and some change.