Bands will blare when what could be the biggest parade ever held in Whangarei rolls across Te Matau a Pohe after Whangarei MP Phil Heatley cuts the ribbon to open the new bridge on July 27.
Leading the procession will be a Packard which the late Ben Jagger operated as a service car in the 1930s between Whangarei and Taurikura at Whangarei Heads, where his family still farms.
With Fenton Craw from the Packard and Pioneer Museum at the wheel and Mr Heatley in a passenger seat, the 1925 American convertible will be the first of a line of up to 50 classic and vintage cars, hot rods, trucks and other vehicles to make the historic first crossing on the new link between Riverside Drive and Port Rd.
And much more than just wheels will roll past the bridge's distinctive twin fish-hooks of Ngati Kahu chief Wiremu Pohe. Colin Twyman, from the Kamo Lions Club, has been recruited to co-ordinate the procession and he is organising an entertaining spectacle expected to make the bridge opening the Greatest Show in Whangarei.
"There will be pre-opening entertainment with gymnastic and rock 'n roll dancing," Mr Twyman said.