It's the block party that almost wasn't, but a Braddon Block Party of sorts is finally going ahead.
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Taste of Braddon is the new iteration of the event, which will be held on the weekend of November 11-12.
![Ruby is getting excited for pug racing at A Taste of Braddon. Photo: Jamila Toderas Ruby is getting excited for pug racing at A Taste of Braddon. Photo: Jamila Toderas](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/664f2944-32d6-408f-89c5-8cbc4aab8619/r0_0_2000_1333_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The plan for the original Braddon Block Party was to close parts of Lonsdale and Elouera Streets to make way for a day of food, coffee, music, markets and street art, but the road closures proved too costly.
Instead, organisers In The City Canberra have moved the event up the street to Haig Park.
![Archie and Biscuit, ready for sausage dog races at Haig Park in November. Photo: Jamila Toderas Archie and Biscuit, ready for sausage dog races at Haig Park in November. Photo: Jamila Toderas](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/fcbf84aa-e97f-47bb-9c57-13c043bb95b0/r0_0_2000_1333_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We think it's a great way to use the park. Initially some of the [Braddon] owners and traders were saying, 'Haig Park, it's not part of Braddon'," said In The City Canberra chief Jane Easthope.
"But there's a lot of people that live around Braddon and Haig Park's the right place to have it. And it's underutilised so why not open it up and let people be in it. It's now the backyard for a lot of people that live in Braddon."
Taste of Braddon will celebrate the culture of the suburb, both old and new, with food from local vendors, wine, live entertainment, and in a nod to its former self, a car display.
On top of a repeat of the popular sausage dog races, which were held during last year's In The City Canberra Christmas celebrations, there will be pug and poodle racing, with more breeds possibly going to be added.
And they won't be the only animals making an appearance, with the first classes of goat yoga in Canberra also running.
The Braddon Block Party was originally slated for October 2016, and after a major sponsor pulled out, was moved to March 2017. In January 2017 it was delayed indefinitely, and organisation of the event was transferred from the Braddon Precinct Group to In The City Canberra.
It will be one of the final events run by In The City Canberra, a non-profit government organisation responsible for promoting and improving urban areas around Civic, Braddon and Turner.
Similar events will be run by the newly-created City Renewal Authority in the future, and Ms Easthope said the future of A Taste of Braddon would be up to them.
Taste of Braddon is on November 11-12 at the Braddon end of Haig Park. For all event information, see facebook.com/IntheCityCanberra.