The fabulous concept of a street water slide, the nationally famous Penny Farthing meet at Evandale over the weekend, the Miss Universe contest, Symphony Under the Stars and Party in the Paddock.

We've shone with Festivale last week and the Beerfest. Coming up this week, the Seaport Twilight Market on Friday night, the Launceston Cup on Wednesday and the big game at Aurora Stadium on Thursday night between AFL Premiers Hawthorn and rivals Collingwood. This event alone should draw a crowd of up to 20,000.

In late March about 60,000 fans and a big TV audience will watch the V8s at Simmons Plains.

The common denominator of these events is entertainment and activity. The North's Indian summer is tailor made in most cases because of stable weather, unlike Hobart's four seasons in a day.

Build it and they will come. Good spectator sport and social events draw big crowds, profits and jobs.

Other places achieve this by staging wild things like backyard contraptions made for flight, jumping off a pier or a boat race in the outback. It's fun and it's activity. It's a dream for children.

Equally city planners can attract the greater northern population back to the city with activity and entertainment. The water slide was brilliant. We've raised other possibilities before, like making the Avenue a mall. Eventually a retailer might get it.

Summer is the easy part. Sustaining an events program over winter is when the going gets tough. It can't all be football and hockey. Hobart does it in dazzling style with Dark MOFO. Poor planning simply presumes that the population is content to spend all winter rugged up to watch Saturday morning school sports and then hibernate in front of the telly.

It is a challenge. It's what our events and civic managers are paid to step up for.