More than 600 people partied in Brighton at the weekend, raising money for a legal fund to appeal a landfill planned for the neighbourhood.
South Coast Neighbourhood Society spokeswoman Sarah Ramsay said this year’s sold-out Lobo Fest was a "huge success" for the group appealing the Dunedin City Council’s consent for a landfill at Smooth Hill.
"It honestly blew our minds."
Tickets for Lobo Fest — an annual backyard festival run by Ed and Michelle Lobo at their Brighton home — were made public this year for the first time as the hosts expanded their birthday celebrations into a much bigger event.
The Lobos added Wellington’s reggae-inspired The Black Seeds to the bill and more than doubled the number of tickets available to help fundraising efforts for the society’s Stop the Brighton Landfill legal fees, Mrs Ramsay said.
The headlining act was "just blown away by how positive the vibe was".
The whole crowd fell silent as local musicians Ashlee Maxwell and Dennis Kahui performed their original song Ōtokia, she said.
One of the society’s concerns is health risks the planned landfill could pose for people using Ōtokia Creek or Brighton Beach, where the creek ends.
The amount raised at the weekend music festival was not available yesterday.
However, the raffle alone raised $2630, "which was brilliant", and on top of any proceeds from the event itself, Mrs Ramsay said.
The society remained on track for Environment Court mediation in April, she said.
This was the eighth year for the family-friendly music festival and for the most part things went as planned.
"This has been by far the biggest.
"Every year it gets better.
"It was all ages, it was lovely ... at the front in the mosh pit we had a whole bunch of kids loving it — it was brilliant, utterly brilliant."
