The Black Seeds will headline next month's It! Festival in Paihia.
Black Seeds to play Paihia
Renowned Kiwi roots reggae band The Black Seeds have been named as the headline act at next month's It! Bay of Islands Food and Wine Festival in Paihia.
The event, now in its sixth year, is taking place on October 24, the Saturday of Labour Weekend, on Paihia's Village Green.
Other acts will include Kerikeri High School Jazz Band, DDF Dance Group, Inertia and Smokefree Pacifica Beats 2013 winners Strangely Arousing.
The more competitive - or hungry - festival-goers will able to take part in oyster shucking, kina sucking, seafood chowder and pie eating contests. Those who prefer to take their time will be able to choose from dozens of stalls offering Northland food and wine.
The festival has a tradition of picking top Kiwi bands. Previous years have seen Supergroove, Dave Dobbyn and The Exponents perform on the Village Green. See paihianz.co.nz/it_festival for more information.
Bring on the music
It's shaping up to be a lively summer for music lovers in the Bay.
As well as the Black Seeds in Paihia, legendary UK reggae band UB40 will play Kerikeri's Kainui Vineyard on January 6 as part of a tour of New Zealand wineries.
Kainui, at the corner of SH10 and Kapiro Rd north of Waipapa, has hosted many a wedding but this will be its first major concert and the biggest in the Kerikeri area since Honey Jam in 2013.
School market day
Springbank School, on Waimate North Rd near Kerikeri, is holding its annual market day from 11am-3pm this Sunday.
The event is a chance for students, from pre-school to Year 12, to showcase their own products and business ideas while earning a little pocket money.
Among this year's 50-plus stalls will be student businesses making seaweed fertiliser, jewellery, lemonade and hand-crafted walking sticks.
Charities accepting the invitation to take part include Child Cancer, Rangitane Ratepayers, students raising money for Roland's Wood, and groups rebuilding a cyclone-hit school in Vanuatu and making a track along Kerikeri's Wairoa Steam. The business stalls are required to donate 25 per cent of their takings to charity.
Entertainment will include covers band Scarlett Fever, rides and bouncy castles.
Paihia's newest makeover
The Bay of Islands town that keeps transforming itself is planning another upgrade - this time of the run-down and largely vacant Paihia Mall.
A public meeting will be held in the War Memorial Hall from 7.30-9pm tomorrow to discuss ideas for a revamp.
They include market lanes to replace the empty shops and a Friday night street-food festival.
The project has been facilitated by Focus Paihia, which helped get the various landlords together, but is a private project funded by the property owners.
They have hired David Engwicht, the Australian urban renewal guru who inspired Focus Paihia, as a consultant.
Kids art contest
Jetsom Artspace, on Kerikeri's Cobham Rd, is hosting a kids' art competition with the winning works to be auctioned for charity.
Entries should be on A3 or A4 paper and handed in by September 23. All artworks will be displayed in the window at Jetsom. The best will be framed and sold at the Hospice Mid Northland art and collectables auction next month.
Prizes will be awarded for 3-7 and 8-13 year olds and include art packs and lessons with artist Monika Welch.
The entries will be on display at Jetsom from September 25 to October 12. People's choice votes can be placed at the auction viewing gallery at 66e Kerikeri Rd on October 2-12. The auction itself will take place at the Turner Centre on October 16.
Entry forms are available from the gallery or by emailing sheree@jetsomartspace.co.nz.
Kaeo kids on stage
The kids of Kaeo Primary are performing their biennial school production today and tomorrow in the Kaeo Memorial Hall to sell-out audiences.
The show consists of three plays - one each by the junior, middle and senior schools - and will be staged at 12.30pm and 6.45pm today and 6.45pm on Thursday. The show is a big deal in Kaeo and has already sold out.
The juniors' play is loosely based on the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. The middle school kids will travel back in time to meet Kiwi icons such as Fred Dagg and Sir Edmund Hillary, while the seniors' play is about the people of Kaeo Valley fighting back against a developer intent on taking over their town.
Rotarians wanted
Kerikeri Rotarians are keen to hear from anyone who wants to get involved with the club's community projects without having to formally join Rotary.
They are also inviting locals to use the group's website (www.kerikerirotaryclub.org) to submit ideas for projects the club can support. Existing projects include the community barbecues at Kerikeri Basin, working with Vision Kerikeri to build a track to the Wairoa Stream waterfall, and the annual Garden Safari.
New president Ian Faulkner said the 37-strong club was one of the most active in Northland but he wanted more professionals and parents of young families to join. To that end the club had introduced a lunchtime meeting once a month and ditched the rule that members had to attend most gatherings.
Send an email to secretary@kerikerirotaryclub.org or contact the club through the 'Get involved' page on its website.
Wanted: Winston's mini-me
Northland MP Winston Peters is looking for a young Northlander to be his representative in next year's Youth Parliament.
The winning applicant will be a youth MP for six months next year, engaging with the community and learning about current issues. He or she will then serve in the two-day Youth Parliament on July 19-20 with 120 other youth MPs from around the country.
Mr Peters said anyone keen to apply should write "600 persuasive words" setting out a new policy they wanted to see taken up by a New Zealand government. They should make a strong case by arguing all sides, but, because of the low word count, had to be succinct.
Applicants should email their work to nzfirst.office@parliament.govt.nz or send a message on the Winston Peters Facebook page with the hashtag #YouthMP4Winston. The deadline is 9am on September 21. See www.youthparliament.govt.nz for more details.
Trivia time
The Bay of Islands Vintage Railway's famous - or possibly infamous - trivia night fundraiser is taking place at the Copthorne Hotel's Waitaha Conference Room in Waitangi this Saturday.
The event will be hosted by Frank Leadley, who promise a "fast-moving, lively night with crazy auctioneering".
The quiz is contested by teams of eight but smaller groups or individuals can be teamed up on the night. Tickets cost $25 from Paihia Pharmacy, Paper Plus Kerikeri, or Trainspotter Bookshop in Kawakawa.
Maori rep wanted
Focus Paihia is calling for nominations for a new trustee as the Focus Paihia Maori representative to represent the interests of tangata whenua in the area. Email info@focuspaihia.org.nz for more information or to nominate someone. Nominations close on October 16.
Walking Weekend coming soon
Bookings are now open for this year's Bay of Islands Walking Weekend.
Held on October 2-4 and headquartered at the Duke of Marlborough in Russell, the event features 20 walks ranging from a gentle amble around the town's chartered clubs to a punishing overnight tramp over Rakaumangamanga to Cape Brett.
Some walks are booked out already. To see what's left, go to www.boiwalkingweekend.co.nz.
Do you have news or an upcoming event you'd like to see in this column? Send it to us, including your full contact details, to baynews@northernadvocate.co.nz.
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