Big Girl celebration of women

CELEBRATE: Local women with one of many Big Girls. PHOTO: RENEE CLAYTON

Last week crowds of women battled the wind with music, dance, food and giant puppets to celebrate International Women's Day in The Square.

The women shared food at the community picnic as well as speeches, songs and dancing. They also listened to poetry to acknowledge one another and the hard work women do all over the world.

Organiser Bridgette Murphy said the day was great and full of laughter.

"We really wanted to bring everyone together to have fun and celebrate all the cultures that we have in our region."

Giant puppets called 'Big Girls' were made by the Rangiwahia Environmental Arts Centre and locals to represent the varied ethnicities that make up our city.

"We have one Big Girl for each continent and have a few extras like Alice and Wonderland which was a bit of fun. These give the women in our community big representations on the streets and help new women to New Zealand feel at home," Mrs Murphy said.

A new puppet named Sima Samar was made last week by the Afghan community to represent their members. They also helped freshen up the older puppets.

This was the first time that the event has run since 2013 and organisers hope to make it an annual one.