A ribbon-cutting competition and mayoral dance-off will see council candidates show off a new set of skills, after weeks of rehearsed speeches and curly questions on the campaign trail.
Whangarei's Old Stone Butter Factory is hosting a "PreDelection Partay" tonight, with events manager Hannah White describing it as a chance to connect with candidates on a "personal, fun level".
"I'm a big believer in person over policy because different issues arise within council and where someone stands will depend on their personal values," Ms White said.
"We have a diverse community who frequent The Old Stone Butter Factory, most of which have not attended any candidate meetings, so we're mixing things up to bring them a candidate meet they may actually enjoy."
Ms White said a call had gone out to all Whangarei District Council candidates to attend, and participate in events including a dance-off (Sheryl Mai had indicated she would be getting down to Dean Martin), a spoken word open mic session and a mayoral ribbon-cutting contest.
The spoken word element of the evening would feature Justice Hetaraka (who led the development of Whangarei Girls' High School karakia), 2016 Northland Poetry Slam winner Brett Rhys and National slam champion Vincent Nathan.
"There will be a chance for young people to speak alongside the candidates, as thus far the candidate meetings have largely failed to attract their attention through the use of formats or venues which do not suit them," Ms White said.
The night of "election shenanigans" kicks off at 7pm tonight at The Old Stone Butter Factory, 8 Butter Factory Lane.