This year's Blossom Parade will be dazzled with colour, creativity and wonder.
The Spring event takes place on September 15 and alongside the floats and the bands will stride a larger than life Te Mata O Rongokako his star-crossed lover, Hinerakau by his side, the creations of international artist and community educator, Ally Rogers.
The theme of this year's parade is "Show us you heART" and Rogers has chosen to depict the pair at the centre of Hawke's Bay's oldest love story – the legend of Te Mata Peak.
"It's really important to get ordinary people involved. It's a story that belongs to this place and so it would be wonderful to get the community to celebrate the story and be a part of the parade," she says.
With Te Mata O Rongokako's connection to whenua, and Hinerakau's connection to moana, the workshops will be themed around creatures of mountain and ocean.