A combination of food and security supply created a Hyde St Party on Saturday April 20th (4/20 leshgo) that went “relatively smooth” according to residents. Critic Te Ārohi takes their word for it, having opted for the gonzo journalistic approach that landed us in the thick of the party forgetting why we were there in the first place.
The event was structured around 33 different themes corresponding to each flat. One of the flats even hosted a gender reveal at 3pm, announcing to the tripped out world that a baby girl would be entering a grungy Hyde St flat in the coming months. Whether you were a black cat or plague rat, a concrete jungle explorer or a Y2K baddie, Critic Te Ārohi saw you and loved you. If you got a picture with our Critic glasses, we love you a little bit extra.
Among the bands that played were recent breakouts Ani Saafa and Albatross, swiftly followed by a mix of DnB and House once people had warmed up. Speaking to the musical array, Emelia said, “I got cronk, and it’s always lovely hearing DnB at 11 in the morning.” A student, Jean, also commented that their highlight of the day was getting behind Concrete Jungle’s decks, which felt like “being at the top of the food chain.”
Part of OUSA’s safety plan for attendees involved three food tents, with the help of Red Frogs and The Dumpling Lady. In total, the tents distributed 4,500 hash browns, 4,500 sausages, 400 loaves of bread, 800 meat patties, 1,000 steamed buns, 40 bags of biscuits, and 5.2kg of Red Frogs. “At the conclusion of the event, there was only a tray and a bit of bread left,” Critic was told by an OUSA spokesperson. Good effort, team. Red Frog’s Shannon Thomson told Critic Te Ārohi, “We love that we can be part of looking after students at events such as Hyde St.”
The second prong of the safety plan involved security and Police presence, which attendees said was “notable”. Sixty-four security manned the streets during the event, with residents reporting that each flat was afforded at least one security guard. One resident, Zaki, told Critic Te Ārohi that “we got to know our security guard pretty well.” Wholesome. Victor added, “Security was really into it […] we’re happy with how it turned out.”
On the day, Critic chatted to student Elise who complained that her “bicep hurts from carrying around [her] box all day.” Regardless, she mused that “pretty much everyone seems to be in good form [...] but I heard that someone got arrested for getting into a fight.” Police confirmed via their Instagram that “two people were arrested for assault and both individuals received a warning.” However, with little trouble to keep them occupied, Police said they were able to “enjoy the day, engage with partygoers, and admire the weird and wonderful outfits on display.”
An OUSA spokesperson said, “it was largely a very successful event [...] Events of this type and scale will always have incidents that require managing, but all things considered these incidents were very low key, and on the whole it would seem that the majority of attendees came to have a good time, and hopefully did.”