were born from identifying Yarra ’ s unique attributes that could be harnessed to support vulnerable businesses – Yarra Grooves and partnerships with three local AFL teams .
THE YARRA ECONOMY Spendmap data indicates that the Yarra economy is heavily reliant on visitor spending . 75 % of the $ 272m spend in Yarra ( May 2022 ) was made by non-residents . Post-pandemic , Yarra ’ s Economic Development team had to think innovatively about how we could motivate visitors to return to Yarra to reinvigorate our nighttime economy , creative spaces and hospitality venues .
GROOVES
Our first solution was Yarra Grooves , a mobile silent disco walking tour which encouraged locals and visitors to get out and experience our amazing service and retail precincts post-pandemic .
BRINGING YOU A SERIES OF FREE SILENT DISCO WALKING TOURS
CELEBRATING YARRA ’ S DIVERSE STREETS
The second solution was to tap into the three local AFL teams that have ties to Yarra , being Richmond Tigers , Collingwood Magpies and Brisbane Lions ( who have an historical link to Fitzroy ) to promote and engage the local business community .
Meet the traders , learn more about our precincts and have fun dancing in the streets
BOOK YOUR FREE SILENT DISCO WALKING TOUR TODAY !
CREATING A BUOYANT LOCAL ECONOMY WITH A STRONG SENSE OF CONNECTION We got our Groove back We wanted to get the ‘ groove back ’ in the Yarra precincts post-pandemic , and we decided to do so literally through Yarra Grooves . This involved organising a total of 18 mobile guided silent disco walking tours between May and August in 2022 . The tours covered ten of Yarra ’ s key economic hubs from Bridge Road in Richmond , Brunswick , Smith and Gertrude Streets in Collingwood and Fitzroy , up to Clifton Hill and St Georges Road Fitzroy North .
The objectives of Yarra Grooves were to :
• Encourage our local community to feel confident to return to our retail and service precincts after the pandemic
• Support and promote local traders to the Yarra community and attract tourists to the precincts
• Build a community amongst traders and shoppers / residents
• Activate and promote the precincts as destinations
• Bring life , play , love and laughter to our streets
• Celebrate the local identities that make the Yarra economy in these precincts successful
• Celebrate the work of our local traders in continuing to operate a business during lockdowns .
To deliver this program , we utilised the Victorian State Government ’ s ‘ Covid Safe Outdoor Activation Funding ’ to engage Melbourne performing company Guru Dudu , who are best known for their silent discos .
Council officers conducted research to collect the histories of the residents and traders from each precinct , including stories of immigration , sport , art and more . During each tour these histories were shared through story and song to paint a picture of the unique qualities of each area .
The tours emphasised the importance of our local traders and encouraged attendees to support local businesses through a sense of community connection .
Each tour was free to attend with attendees encouraged to register prior to the event , however , the structure of the tour also allowed for residents to join spontaneously mid-tour , adding to the magic of each event .
WE ALL HAVE A ROLE WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY Yarra is very fortunate to have 3 AFL teams with strong ties to our municipality . The Richmond Tigers , Collingwood Magpies and Brisbane Lions all have local origins .
Victorians have a known passion for the AFL . Combine this with the over 100,000 active members of the three clubs , and the advantages of creating a business support program between the AFL clubs and our small local businesses was an unmissable opportunity .
The three AFL clubs could see clear benefits of participating in developing the local economy . The partnership had the potential to attract supporters to Yarra from across the country . This
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL VOL 16 NO 3 2023 13