Village a hive of activity this weekend

The finish line is outside Diva Bar and Bistro with the cars then retiring to a "shine and show" station in Treachers Lane. Photo / Glenn Taylor

A bumper crop of activities in Havelock North this weekend will see the Village become a hive of activity.

There will be lots of people out and about which will force a couple of road closures, so residents and visitors to the Village are asked to be patient and plan their journeys to allow for possible delays getting around.

First cab off the rank is the Targa New Zealand Rally, which roars into the Village at about 3.30pm today.

The finish line is outside Diva Bar and Bistro with the cars then retiring to a "shine and show" station in Treachers Lane.

Napier Road between the roundabout and Treachers Lane will be closed to traffic from 3pm-6pm, and Diva bar will be hosting covers band Mid-Life Crisis from 4.30pm.

Spectators are welcome to view the cars up close in Treachers Lane until 8pm.

The cars then leave Havelock North tomorrow morning to complete their tour of New Zealand.

It is also the first weekend of the Harcourts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival in the famous Spiegeltent on Havelock North Domain, with a sell-out crowd heading to Pass the Gat at 7pm tonight.

For those wanting to join the action, there are still tickets for Banging Cymbal Clanging Gong at 10pm.

There are just a handful of tickets left for the Saturday night showing of the Modern Maori Quartet. For the full arts festival programme go to http://www.hbaf.co.nz/shows/.

The busy weekend in the Village is rounded off with the Blast in the Park fireworks show in Anderson Park on Saturday night - a fundraiser for the Havelock North Primary.

It is Hastings' only public Guy Fawke's display.

The action is not just around Havelock North.

Further afield, the Bay Bash Surfing Championships will be held at Waimarama tomorrow and Sunday.

Expect to see the best surfers in New Zealand taking part - and Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park is hosting the ANZ futureFERNS Netball Festival tomorrow from 11am to 1pm.