Eva Bradley Shopping for your groceries is tricky enough at the best of times, let alone when you are wearing a larger-than-life period costume complete with wig that scrapes the ceiling and full hoop skirt that sweeps the floors. But get used to the look _ the Hawke's Bay Opera Houseand its colourful personalities will be a regular feature at the Hastings City New World as part of the Full House $2.7m fundraising drive to restore the historic building. With November being one of two community fundraising months, the supermarket will be inviting its customers to add a donation to the Opera House on to their bill. Some 25,000 people pass through the checkout each week and campaigners hope the innovative bid for the buck will result in a significant contribution towards the fundraising effort. It was a big undertaking because there was staff training to organise, badges to make and the supermarket had also given permission for an area to be set up to inform people about the Opera House, the community fundraisers said. For every $5 donation, customers will be entered into a raffle to win a specially produced nine-litre salmanazer bottle of Te Mata Estate Winery's famous 2000 Coleraine, which was recently judged best bordeaux in the Hawke's Bay Today Wine Quest. Last week a three-litre bottle was auctioned for $2000 and a 12-litre bottle recently fetched $15,000. Hastings City New World owner Shirley Lucas said the decision to support the Opera House was an easy one because its redevelopment would help the entire city. "It is a lovely, iconic building and if it helps Hastings retain shows and brings people here who will stay for a weekend, then we all benefit," said Mrs Lucas. Opera House manager Geoff Turkington said while it was a little unusual to have actors and singers at large in a supermarket, it was a suitable symbol for the new and vital relationships being forged between business sponsors and the theatre, which closes for renovation following a final production at the end of November.
