Lia Kammerer, of the Kororareka Outrigger Canoe Club midgets, sprints to the finish line during last year's Bay of Islands Waka Festival at Waitangi. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF
Lia Kammerer, of the Kororareka Outrigger Canoe Club midgets, sprints to the finish line during last year's Bay of Islands Waka Festival at Waitangi. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF
Kerikeri traffic in spotlight
With the Far North District Council's Long Term planning (2018-2018) in the pipeline, the traffic situation in Kerikeri is in the spotlight.
This morning, at 11.30am at Kingston House in Kerikeri, Vision Kerikeri chairman Rod Brown will present a PowerPoint show to district councillors and otherinterested parties, highlighting the current situation in rapidly growing Kerikeri and support for proposed and desperately required new roads.
Those roads include a Kerikeri ringroad from Butler Rd to King St, a southeastern bypass from Maraenui Drive to Mill Lane and Waipapa Rd to Kapiro Rd.
A new movie event, Kiwi Films for Positive Change, is bringing one environmentally themed film to Kerikeri every month until June.
A scene from the documentary Seven Rivers Walking, part of an upcoming film festival in Kerikeri. PHOTO / SUPPLIED
All three documentaries tell inspirational stories of communities coming together to tackle modern-day crises through innovation and a mindset based on building a sustainable future.
The Saturday night screenings at the Cornerstone Church/Whare Karakia o Manako will be followed by zero-waste nibbles prepared by the Veggie Tree Cook School. Each film evening starts at 6.30pm and runs to about 8pm.
The movies are Living the Change (April 28), about Kiwis pioneering change in their own lives as they look for solutions to global crises; Seven Rivers Walking (May 19) follows walkers, rafters, anglers and farmers searching for a way through the freshwater crisis facing Canterbury rivers; and Edible Paradise (June 30), about New Zealand's food forest revolution.
Tickets are $16 (under-12s free) from eventfinda.co.nz or at the door. Cornerstone Church is at the corner of Kerikeri Rd and the Heritage Bypass.
The festival is organised by members of the eco-network Transition Bay of Islands.
Waka festival returns
Waka ama enthusiasts, mark your diaries – the Bay of Islands Waka Festival is returning to Waitangi this month.
The event was founded last year by the Waitangi Kaihoe Waka Ama Club with help from the ladies of Blah Blah Marketing and immediately drew competitors from around the North.
It will feature two days of racing for everyone from novice midgets to world-class paddlers, in sprints, short and long-distance races.
One of the biggest drawcards will be a 25km long-distance race called the Kris Kjelsden Memorial Race/Te Taiawhio o Ipipiri. It was founded in the Bay 26 years ago by the late Kris Kjelsden, a father of the sport in New Zealand, but wasn't held for 17 years until revived at last year's inaugural Bay of Islands Waka Festival.
The April 21-22 event will take place on Ti Beach, opposite Te Tii Marae in Waitangi. Racing starts at 9am both days.
The Bay of Islands' Dutch community will celebrate Koningsdag – or King's Day – at the Pioneer Tavern in Waipapa on April 27.
The Bay of Islands version of King's Day, a celebration in the Netherlands every April 27, won't be as crazy as this canal party in Amsterdam but organisers are promising plenty of Dutch-style fun.
In the Netherlands, Koningsdag is possibly Europe's biggest annual street party with up to a million orange-clad revellers crowding the streets and canals of Amsterdam alone. It is held on the birthday of King Willem-Alexander, ostensibly to honour the royal family but in reality it's an excuse for a nationwide knees-up.
The Waipapa event won't be quite as big as that but organisers are promising Dutch-style live music, eating, drinking and dancing. All welcome; orange clothing encouraged. Festivities start at 7.30pm with tickets $15 at the door or $10 pre-sales.
For tickets or more information call in to the Pioneer on SH10, Waipapa; call Noortje on (09) 407 6400; email Yvette on yvettedeweerdt@hotmail.com; see Tony at Dial-a-Curtain at 5 Fairway drive in Kerikeri; or visit the Bay of Islands Information and Booking office at the corner of Marsden and Williams roads in Paihia.
Life membership for principal
Kerikeri High School principal Elizabeth Forgie has been awarded Life Membership of the Secondary Principals' Association of New Zealand (SPANZ).
Kerikeri High School principal Elizabeth Forgie, centre, is made a life member of the Secondary Principals' Association of New Zealand. PHOTO / SUPPLIED
The honour was presented at SPANZ' annual conference on March 19 in recognition of 23 years of service which includes being elected to the executive every year since 1995 and serving as SPANZ vice president and convener of national conferences since 2000.
Up to four generations of some families will descend on a Bay of Islands rest home tomorrow.
It is the annual "Grand Day" at Radius Baycare, in Haruru Falls, from 11am to 3pm when all the residents' grandchildren and great-grandchildren come to visit.
The day has plenty of activities for all, including bouncy castles, mini golf, board games, sausage sizzle, arts and crafts and more.
The whole thinking behind it is to allow time for the elderly residents to interact but also just watch the youngsters play which is something they seldom get to do. It is an annual event at Radius Baycare and is always a lot of fun.
The rest home is expecting about 20 to 25 kids aged from 5 months to 18 years old but most are really quite young. This is usually quite a family affair with the mums, aunts, etc, joining in. Often there are up to four generations in one family.
Facility manager Pam Hughes said usually when kids come to visit the residents they sit quietly and don't say much.
''Grand Day is like one big party that is all about the youngsters and gives the residents the rare opportunity to really see 'kids being kids'.''
• 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 reporters@northernadvocate.co.nz.
