Greerton bathed in light

The Tauranga Samba Group leads the annual parade with leader Darius Chapman in front. Photo/Andrew Warner

Greerton was filled with lights, lasers and lightning last night.

IlluminART Festival drew hundreds into the centre of the village for their fifth annual lights show.

Punters were treated to a glow show, laser shows, shadow puppet and the Highly Flammable Reflectrons, glow-in-the-dark circus performers on uni-cycles and hoola-hoops, as well as tethered hot air balloons down Chadwick Rd to the Village Square and the grounds of Greerton Village School.

Greerton mainstreet manager Sally Benning said the night was lots of fun with good feedback from those she spoke to.

"It's all about fire and light. It's for young and old, for families and the whole community to come out and enjoy a midwinter event," she said.

The event drew a crowd of about 800 people with the weather putting a slight damper on it, she said.

The 25-minute fire show and a tessla coil machine were some of the highlights for the night.

Tessa coils were first invented in 1891 and a local Greerton man had spent the last year building one in his basement, she said.

"It's a machine which fires out lighting to music."