Her wish was to have a street party to thank her community and on Friday (31 Jan) - thanks to extraordinary local support and the Make-A-Wish charity - 9-year-old Mieke Fountain, from Te Anau, got it and much more.

Hundreds of people and fine warm weather made Meike's Street Party at Lions Park in Te Anau a resounding success. Photo: Southland App

In 2022 the then 7-year-old was diagnosed with the blood cancer, leukemia, which meant her parents Paul and Abby had to suddenly leave their Fiordland home and jobs and rush to Christchurch Hospital to start Mieke's treatment.

Mieke's father, Paul said that when they started the journey it was a complete shock, and the tears flowed freely.

However, he said they had been blown away by the generosity of the Te Anau community, as were Mieke's doctors and nurses, who would keep saying " It must be good to live in a small town".

After two-and-a-half years of treatment, Mieke, now almost 10, is cancer free and she and her family are ready to resume their normal lives again.

Mieke's parents envisaged just a small celebration party on the street with a few tables and bunting, but Mieke had much bigger ideas and wanted a party to thank all of Te Anau for the support they had been given.

"Make-A-Wish said 'okay we can work with that' [but] I don't even think Make-A-Wish envisioned actually how big it was going to be, especially with the town," Paul said.

Make-A-Wish Aotearoa Fundraising head, Mel Seal said Mieke's wish had been produced by Make-A-Wish producer Lisa Pillai and was the biggest they had ever done.

It had been a huge logistical effort and included a team from Auckland, and gymnasts from Queenstown and Christchurch, she said.

Meike and her parents Abby and Paul at Meike's Street Party. Photo: Make-A-Wish

Seal said Mieke's original wish of a small street party had grown thanks to the involvement of the local community.

"We went from street party to just about a circus. I think that we've been able to bring [it] to life with the community."

"We couldn't actually believe how many people came together."

"They all came together and had donations to make this happen," she said.

Seal said that last year Make-A-Wish organised 170 wishes and this year they were looking at 240 wishes.

Wishes can be anything from "I want a puppy" to "I want to be a chef for a day" to "I want to meet a warrior," she said.

Southland District Council Mayor Rob Scott (centre) and the Make-A-Wish team in Te Anau. Photo: Make-A-Wish

"One young man just wanted to go fishing with his dad. He's in a wheelchair, and for him, that hasn't been an experience he's been able to have," Seal said.

Meike's Street Party was held on Friday (31st Jan) in Lions Park, Te Anau, and included circus acts, dodgem cars, bouncy castle, food trucks, art works, a live band and an aeronautical display.

A Give-a-little page has also been set up for Meike.