A swingin' good time at the Downtown Carnival

A couple dancing near one of the multiple stages at the Downtown Carnival on the Strand this afternoon. Photo/Andrew Warner

The sun was shining and the air was alive with the sounds of jazz, swing, funk and blues on the Strand as the Downtown Carnival picked up pace.

For just a gold coin festival-goers were treated to a range of tunes, with multiple stages set up along the waterfront from noon to 6pm.

After the wet week Tauranga had, the hot, dry weather played its part crowds to the Strand to enjoy the live music.

Aside from the stages, there were buskers performing music and tricks and bars were chock-full of people enjoying the music with a cold beverage in hand.

A woman, visiting from Days Bay near Wellington, said she loved the carnival atmosphere that had been created on the waterfront.

"It's a nice venue, with the different stages available and some of the buskers around are really good," Karen Kressin said.

"I thought it would only be jazz music but I like the mix of genres, we saw some swing dancers early on who looked like they were having a ball."

She said the only downside was maneuvering to each stage, as it got congested and hard to get through.

"But everyone was well-behaved and it seemed like people were really enjoying themselves."