Looking forward to a busy 2025 - Vince Cocurullo

The Mass Band was a drawcard for the thousands attending the Waipu Highland Games. Photo / Brodie Stone

Buon Anno and welcome to 2025!

2024 ended the year with a series of successful community events, the hugely popular Waipu Highland Games was the finale.

While the weather was challenging, the crowds turned up in their thousands to celebrate this long-running and much-loved event.

I was honoured to play a small role in the proceedings, and I thank the volunteers and the Waipu community for their hard work in making this event such a success (and seasonal drawcard!) for our district.

We’re well into the swing of things here at council, and 2025 is already shaping up to be a very busy year.

The Endless Summer Festival has kicked off, featuring more than 60 events across our district and running right through until the end of March.

It’s been great to see so many people enjoying the Kiwi Art Trail in Whangārei’s CBD and around the Hātea Loop. The collection of more than 20 kiwi sculptures have been turned into stunning pieces of art by talented New Zealand artists, two of whom are Whangārei locals.

When the trail ends, the sculptures will be auctioned, and proceeds will go towards kiwi conservation. It’s a great cause, and well worth taking the whole family for a walk around the trail.

The festival is also packed with markets, music events, workshops, fishing competitions, sporting fixtures, theatre shows and much more – and as many of the events are family-friendly, accessible and free (or entry by koha), you’ll find there really is something for everyone.

There will be a new batch of cruise ship visitors enjoying our district starting from January 18, as Whangārei welcomes four cruise ships into our waters. This is great news for our local economy, and I look forward to warmly welcoming our visitors when they arrive.

2025 is a major year for working with our neighbours, as Top Energy and Northpower are improving Northland’s energy resilience with Transpower.

Our four councils are aligning to be a driving force for Northland’s economy. For as they say, when Northland works together, who is prepared to stop us.

Most importantly, 2025 is an election year for local government.

You’ll see the Electoral Commission at more council events, as we encourage residents to check their enrolment status ahead of the elections.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to take part in the local elections, and making sure you’re enrolled to vote is the first step.

You can learn more about the local elections while celebrating everything you love about Whangārei District, at our first ever Love it Here Festival being held on February 14 to celebrate the opening of Lover’s Lane.

A Love it Here Festival, on Valentine’s Day, at Lover’s Lane – what a great start to 2025!

This year will be busier than last year, I am sure of that, and I look forward to working closely with our local communities and our regional neighbours in the months to come.

Let the fun begin!