Whangārei DJ Hemi Paul is co-organising a free concert to show solidarity after the Christchurch mosque attacks. Photo / Supplied
Whangārei DJ Hemi Paul is co-organising a free concert to show solidarity after the Christchurch mosque attacks. Photo / Supplied
A free music gig is being held in Whangārei this weekend as a way to spread positivity and show solidarity in honour of those affected by the Christchurch mosque attacks.
Whangārei DJ Hemi Paul, known as DJHemz, said after a very "sombre" Monday following last Friday's attacks, he wanted tocontinue the solidarity and sense of pride he felt at Whangārei's peace vigil for Christchurch held at Laurie Hall Park last Sunday.
So he and Tim Bell, from Belltech, have organised Gig for Love - a two hour music event being held at Laurie Hall Park from 3pm on Sunday which Paul hopes will boost people's spirits.
"After the vigil on Sunday it was super sad, super heartbreaking, but there was that big sense of pride that we were all on the same page and we've got to look at a way to stop the hate from spreading.
"We want this to not be as sombre, but a little bit more happy to prove that we can keep this moving forward, we can keep coming together, and we can keep those same ideologies where we love and be supportive of everyone no matter who they are."
The pair only decided to do this on Tuesday so don't have a confirmed list of performers yet. But Paul said there would be a mixture of local musicians at the event to appeal to a range of people.
"It's for everyone to turn up, have a picnic, listen to some music and we'll have a couple of speakers," he said.
"The point is to come and just be there, and be among everyone. At the same time, we've had our thoughts, we've given our prayers and now let's listen to some music."
Despite the event only being advertised on Facebook a few days ago, 89 people have already indicated they are attending, with 558 interested in the event.
Paul said while the attack last week shocked him, the solidarity shown around the country did not.
"Around the country people are commenting and posting and sending flowers. There was singing and haka all over the place and that's the stuff we want to keep going. That's the whole point of this."
