I love the Bay at this time of year. Over the past month or so it's felt as though our city has sprung into life, with more events, more fun, more sun and definitely more people around.
I've really enjoyed our epic local events, both old and new, such aslast week's Christmas in the Park. About 10,000 people descended on Blake Park to see top-class acts, from Dave Dobbyn, Julia Deans and the Modern Maori Quartet to Tiki Taane.
Taane also filmed a music video at the event, for his new single No Place Like Home, a song he wrote about how much the Bay means to him. Taane is a big star so it's pretty awesome to have him not just singing about our great hometown, but sharing a national stage with other local musicians, including Ria Hall, Tahatai Coast School Youth Choir, Animato String Quartet and Swamp Thing.
Christmas in the Park organiser Rachelle Duffy told the Bay of Plenty Times having Taane film his video in our local community was really special.
"It was a real highlight for us because it showed not only what a great event Christmas in the Park is, but tied in what a beautiful city we have," she said.
The video for Taane's hit track Always On My Mind has been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube. If he can get even close to that for his new single, it will be amazing marketing for the Bay.
But it's not just Tiki Taane and the Little Big Events crew working hard to create awesome events for our city. Earlier this month Mount Maunganui also hosted the first Street Prints Mauao street art festival. The week-long event brought both local and international street artists to town to brighten and beautify our buildings and alleyways. The organisers worked with council and local businesses to ensure the event was beneficial for everyone and would be a long-term asset for the city.
Bravo, I say. We need more of this approach to take our beautiful seaside city into the next phase of its life. I can't wait to see what our talented locals come up with next.
