Tiki Taane on song for charities at night market

Organisers of Saturday's Christmas night market, which saw Tiki Taane perform for more than 5000 guests, were overwhelmed with the response to the charity event.

Chris and Rachelle Duffy have spent months organising the Little Big Markets night market, which supported the Tauranga Community Foodbank, Homes of Hope and Women's Refuge.

Mrs Duffy, who was yesterday still working out the amount raised from the event, said she was "really excited" with how it all went.

"It was really successful and the weather was kind to us. That was the only thing we were ever stressed about because it's the one thing we cannot control."

"I don't know exactly how many people turned up ... but last year we had around 5000 and I would say we probably had more than that [on Saturday night]."

The market kicked off at 2pm with more than 50 stallholders showing off their handmade arts, crafts and other goods.

Mrs Duffy said most of the stallholders sold out of products by the end of the night.

As the daylight faded, local musicians Regan Perry and Nick Barratt took to the stage, alongside Tiki Taane, who now lives in Papamoa. Standing on the back of a truck, in front of dangling fairy lights, Taane had the crowd singing along to his acoustic set, including No 1 hit Always on My Mind.

After the show, Taane pledged his commitment to next year's night market, which Mrs Duffy said would definitely be an annual feature in Mount Maunganui. "The feedback from stallholders and people we spoke to on the night has been nothing but positive.

"Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. The community needed an event like this to fill the void that was there. It's essentially a two-man band with Chris and myself ... but we wouldn't have been able to do it without everyone getting on board and supporting us."