Tourism Bay of Plenty’s Flavours of Plenty Festival has secured $50,000 worth of promotional support. Pictured are Kasey and Karena Bird who have featured at the festival.
Tourism Bay of Plenty’s Flavours of Plenty Festival has secured $50,000 worth of promotional support. Pictured are Kasey and Karena Bird who have featured at the festival.
Flavours fest gets a big slice
Tourism Bay of Plenty has secured almost $186,000 of government funding to promote key events to attract more domestic visitors to its coastal region over the next 10 months.
There were 132 Kiwi events named in the first round of the Regional Events Promotion Fund – a new $5 million government initiative to encourage New Zealanders to visit and spend more in various regions outside the peak summer season.
The Bay of Plenty Garden and Art Festival received $30,000, Zespri Aims Games ($24,500), Toi Kiri ($22,055), National Jazz Festival ($21,000), Echo Walking Festival ($17,415), XAir ($13,500), Local Wild Food Festival ($5,000), and Ōhiwa Oyster Festival ($2,350).
These missions included 16 inter-hospital transfers, four medical events, one rescue, six rural/farm incidents, five motor vehicle accidents, and six miscellaneous missions.
The helicopter was dispatched to Te Puna for a female in her 20s injured from a fall. Due to the remote location, the patient required extraction. The critical care flight paramedic was winched down to the patient who was treated before being extracted via winch.
The patient was then transported to Tauranga Hospital.
The Aerocool Rescue Helicopter staff winched a woman to safety in Te Puna.
Katikati Rotary honours
Three awards were given out at the last Rotary Club of Katikati meeting for outstanding service.
Roy and Barbra Robinson were awarded honorary life membership of the club after 48 years of being involved in many club projects and fellowship.
Ian Stevens has been made a Paul Harris Fellow recognising his 35-year service to the club and his “generosity in supporting projects”.
Farmers and growers across the region are invited to enter the 2025 Ballance Farm Environment Awards to help continue to grow a healthy future for farming.
Facilitated by the New Zealand Farm Environment Trust, the awards recognise and celebrate excellence and innovation in sustainable farming and growing within the primary sector.
Judges evaluate the entire farm system including water and soil management, climate stewardship, biodiversity, waste management, team and community wellbeing, business health, biosecurity, and animal care.
The Tauranga Primary Schools Music Festival is returning for its 67th year to provide local Tauranga and Western Bay primary and intermediate students the opportunity to perform onstage.
Students come together to sing a selection of nostalgic Disney songs to friends, family, and the general public.
About 1150 students will be involved in the festival across the five nights from 32 local schools.
The festival is a chance for children to learn powerful literacy skills to encourage them in reading, public speaking, building self-confidence, and presenting themselves.
It’s August 26-30 at Baycourt Addison Theatre, Tauranga.
Developed in partnership with Ngāti te Wai along with Tanners Point residents and stakeholders and the Katikati Community Board, council’s vision is to transform the space into an inviting communal area that respects cultural and historical roots.
Some of the design features proposed in the development of Tahawai Reserve include: Community facilities including a potential future community building, a new multipurpose hardcourt, viewing platform to Hikurangi Mountain and Mauao, community and traditional medicinal gardens, enhancement to the existing open space with a new loop track, installation of cultural elements and informative signage.
Feedback closes August 18.
A draft concept plan for Tahawai Reserve. Photo / Western Bay of Plenty District Council
Zespri starts season strong with record sales, now in middle of competitive summer fruit season
After one of the strongest-ever starts to the 2024 season, Zespri is now in the midst of the summer fruit season where it traditionally sees more competition.
Around 75 percent of this season’s largest ever crop of more than 190 million trays of kiwifruit from New Zealand have now been shipped to Zespri’s customers around the world.
CEO Jason Te Brake says after a positive start to the season, they are now in a period that is traditionally more challenging on the back of the arrival of summer fruit, which is something they see every year.
“This is a period where we typically experience strong competition from the likes of peaches, berries, melons and grapes which are more available in volume and at lower prices than expected.’’
