Northland news in brief: Six60 show to cause traffic disruption; and learn to talk like a Kiwi

Access across the iconic Waitangi Bridge will be limited today as a crowd of more than 10,000 is expected to attend the Six60 Saturday concert at the Waitangi Sports Ground.

Six60 concert traffic warning

Six60 fans and Waitangi residents are being warned of major traffic disruption before tonight's concert at the Waitangi sports grounds. Te Karuwha Drive, along the Waitangi waterfront, will be closed from 3pm, while a manned stop/go will be place on the one-way bridge at Waitangi. Vehicle movements in and out of the area will be fully locked down from 11pm because of large numbers of pedestrians leaving the event site. Roads will reopen once the crowds disperse. The Waitangi boat ramp is also closed all day today. Boaties are advised to launch from Ōpua instead.

'Talk like a Kiwi' course for migrants

New migrants can learn to "talk like a Kiwi" at a course being run in Whangārei.
Multicultural Whangārei is running Speak English the New Zealand way classes every Tuesday and Friday from, 9am-11am, from January 26. It's a beginners' class. For inquiries to register, email education@multiculturalwhangarei.co.nz or call (09) 430 0571.

Extravaganza Fair

The Extravaganza Fair is on today and tomorrow from 9am to 5pm at William Fraser Memorial Park, Riverside Drive, Whangārei. There will be a new magical show and new stalls, shopping and shenanigans include hand-crafted wares, clothing and jewellery, hair braiding, art, caricatures, henna, rides, all day live music, food and confectionery. Free entry.

Kerikeri exhibition

A new exhibition with paintings by Karen Vernon, Win Stringer and Judith Fenton will have its opening night in the Turner Centre's Theatre Bar in Kerikeri from 6pm to 8pm on Wednesday, January 20. The show will then be open from 9am to 4pm weekdays until February 24.

Mind, Body and Spirit Festival

The Mind, Body and Spirit Festival is at Paihia today and tomorrow from 10am to 5pm at the Paihia War Memorial Hall. It includes massage, reiki, reflexology, international and local clairvoyants, palm reading, crystal jewellery, Rongoa Māori, medieval surprises, porcelain pottery, natural soaps and more. Entry is free.

Go Green Awards

An awards ceremony honouring the Far North's environmental champions which had to cancelled last year because of Covid is now set to go ahead in March. The Far North Go Green Awards — brainchild of the Resilient Russell Trust — were founded in 2019 with Project Island Song, a community-driven project to restore the flora and fauna of the eastern Bay of Islands, taking out the inaugural supreme prize. The Covid-19 lockdown scuppered the 2020 awards but they will be back on March 12 from 6pm at Russell's Duke of Marlborough Hotel, with former Russell School principal William Fuller as the MC.

DoC video competition

DoC is running a video competition for young people to share their ideas about what needs to be done to ensure Papatūānuku thrives. The videos will be shared on social media and there are prizes for best entries. Entries are open to young people aged 16 to 25 as an individual or a named group. Videos must be two minutes long and can be submitted via DoC's website from February 1 to March 15. Prizes are $1000 for category winners and $500 for runners-up. For more information visit doc.govt.nz/rangatahivids.

18 new Covid cases in MIQ

There were 18 new cases of Covid-19 reported in managed isolation in New Zealand since Wednesday. Two of these cases are classified as historical and deemed not infectious.
There are no new cases in the community. Four cases have now recovered, bringing the total number of active cases in New Zealand to 76. The country's total number of confirmed cases is 1890. From today, travellers from the United States and United Kingdom will be required to produce a negative test result for Covid-19 upon landing in New Zealand. Travellers will be required to provide evidence of their pre-departure test result as they go through Customs.