Photos by George Novak

The debut of a street art festival based in Mount Maunganui has left lasting images and inspiration for the Bay's younger generation, with members of the older generation also getting in on the action.

Friday 4th December 2015, ASB Arena, Mount Maunganui. The annual Bay of Plenty Sports Awards, hosted by Sport Bay of Plenty, is the regions premier sports awards ceremony. The awards aim to recognise all aspects of sport with award categories highlighting the superb achievements of sports clubs, administrators, coaches and officials alongside those athletes who are at the top of their sports nationally and internationally.

Te Puke School pupils sang, danced and generally got into the spirit of their Christmas in the Park festival on Friday. Photographer Andrew Warner was there.

The Opening of the Clever Kids Store in Bethlehem Town Centre had a large number of parents and grandparents enjoying the VIP night to celebrate the new store.

Crowds flooded into the CBD for the Trustpower Downtown Tauranga Christmas Parade on Saturday, Andrew Warner captured the spirit of the event.

Twenty20 Super Smash cricket was held at the Bay Oval yesterday. The Northern Knights faced the Otago Volts. George Novak was there.

A selected Year 2 Bachelor of Creative Industries exhibition where students responded to design problems, creative explorations and fashion trends

Almost 20,000 people lined Western Bay of Plenty streets over the weekend to see the big jolly fellow dressed in red.

The New Zealand Garden and Art Festival team had a gathering one year out from the 2016 event.

Wedding suppliers enjoyed an evening at the Bluebiyou restaurant in Papamoa

Wonder Women is the brainchild of director Denise Arnold, to bring women together to share ideas and foster friendships. Denise hopes the speaker series will be an antidote to the digital age in which people often communicate by email and text. “In today’s busy world, face-to-face friendships are getting harder and harder to come by,” says Denise. “I started the event after repeatedly hearing from Tauranga women about how difficult it was to meet and form friendships with other like-minded women.” The Wonder Women speaker series also provides a platform for women who are well established in Tauranga to welcome and share their local knowledge with new arrivals, she adds. “With its rapidly expanding population, there are a lot of people living in Tauranga who are relatively new to the city. Those who have lived here for some time are a valuable resource,” says Denise.

Dr Don McKenzie who started a world-wide movement of breast cancer dragonboating was in Tauranga this weekend. Dr McKenzie was a guest of the New Zealand Dragon Boat Association and spoke at the regatta in Tauranga Novemeber 28. The regatta at the Lakes, Tauriko, featured a poignant flower ceremony on the water for the victims of breast cancer. There was corporate races and a breast cancer race around midday, just before the flower ceremony. In New Zealand more than 600 women die from breast cancer every year. Nineteen years ago Dr McKenzie challenged the conventional medical thinking that breast cancer survivors should avoid rigorous upper body exercise. The Canadian Professor set up a dragon boating team and proved that the exercise only had positive effects for the women involved. Since then breast cancer paddling has spread to dozens of countries, with thousands of women competing in an international regatta every four years (the most recent was in Florida last year and the next one is in Florence in 2018). Tauranga boasts one of New Zealand’s top teams – the Boobops – who won the national title four years in a row from 2010 to 2013. Images by George Novak.

There was plenty of choice when Urban Vogue and George Edward showed off some of their new season fashion that would be suitable for your next cruise.

People turned out to support Homes of Hope Mega Garage Sale and score a bargain. Photos / George Novak

The new office for Mike Pero Real Estate held its grand opening on 12 November at 299 Cameron Rd, Tauranga

Thousands of peopleturned out to see the man in red at the Papamoa SantaParade at the weekend. George Novak was there to take the pictures.

Crowds gathered to celebrate World Vision’s Bit By Bit Family Fun Day at Mount Drury on Saturday, which culminated in a screening of E.T. The Extra Terrestrial by Night Owl Cinema. Andrew Warner captured the action

Business After 5 events provide the opportunity to network with like-minded local business people in a relaxed environment.

Business After 5 events provide the opportunity to network with like-minded local business people in a relaxed environment.

Guests dressed up to the nines and all wore masquerade masks at the Briscoes Masquerade Ball on Saturday 7th November 2015.

Austin is one of 7000 Kiwis with cerebral palsy. He suffers from periventricular leukomalacia (a brain injury), asymmetric spastic quadriplegia, developmental delay and has problems with his vision. Photos by George Novak.

More than 500 road patrollers from around the Western Bay of Plenty paraded through Tauranga CBD in the annual Orange Day Parade last week. The parade was not only a thank-you for this year’s road patrollers but was also designed to raise awareness of road safety around schools. The Orange Day Parade celebrates the important contribution students have made to road safety within their school communities throughout the year. Photographer John Borren went along to capture the colour of the event.

The Diwali Festival on the Strand was snapped by Andrew Warner.

Tauranga was treated to a grand display as the popular Diwali Festival made its mark in Tauranga for the first time at the weekend. Photographer Andrew Warner was there to catch some of the action.

Tauranga Intermediate School held its annual school relay last week. The event is a fundraiser for the school’s Ngamuwahine Outdoor Education Lodge and, as well as team members taking it in turns to run laps around the school grounds, there was also a series of Top Town style games.

People of all ages and abilities gathered at the QEII centre to take part in the Tauranga Special Olympics earlier this month.

Bay of Plenty Times photographer John Borren heads inside the Arboria and captures the colours.