Sunshine and new attractions, including a kids’ kapa haka contest, helped draw a record crowd to the 173rd Bay of Islands Pastoral and Industrial Show at Waimate North on Saturday. The oldest country show in New Zealand featured the usual animals and hall competitions, trade stalls, rides, the ever popular small animals tent where town kids can cuddle a critter, and a rejigged Northland Food and Wine Festival. The Be Free talent quest marked its 10th anniversary with a concert by past finalists while Kaikohe East School won the primary schools kapa haka challenge with Kawakawa Primary second. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

It started as a visual gag involving the moon, a radio telescope and bit of Photoshop - but it turned into an internet hit.

It wouldn’t pay to say “a rose is a rose is a rose” when there are hundreds of varieties, colours, forms and fragrances vying for attention and prizes at the annual Northland Rose Society show. Held over the weekend at Whangarei’s Forum North, the show drew entrants from all over Northland and even one from Waikato, while the public flocked to admire the lovely roses. Meanwhile, the annual Sculpture Northland exhibition at the Quarry Gardens proved once again how art and gardens enhance each other. Advocate photographer Michael Cunningham went along to both events and captured these images.

An estimated 2500 people packed into the grounds of Sprringbank School near Kerikeri on Saturday for the only professional fireworks show in the Mid North. While waiting for nightfall and the chance to see $5000 worth of pyrotechnics go up in smoke, visitors were kept entertained by student bands, cheerleaders and hip-hop dancers. The annual event is a major fundraiser for the school. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

An 80-year-old church at Towai, on SH1 south of Kawakawa, was cut into three sections and loaded on to a truck last Monday at the start of a long, slow journey to its new home on Waiheke Island. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

Hundreds of ghouls, ghosts, witches and vampires defied the rain to go trick-or-treating in Kawakawa last Friday night in an annual event organised by the crew at Central Butchery. Photos by Stephanie Schollum of Eye Creative Photography.

Whangarei Primary School’s big annual fundraiser was a big hit at the weekend, but there were some changes from the traditional ArtoberFest, with a gala day and food fair held at the school. The Gala Day and food fair was held at the Whangarei Primary on Friday, with the evening event replacing the traditional Saturday ArtoberFest. There was still plenty of entertainment for the whole family, with hangi, Asian and South African foods, cake stall, sweets, sausage sizzle, money golf, teacher torture, horizontal bungy, haunted classroom, book and toy sale, quick-fire raffles, games, art and crafts, kapa haka and a talent show. Northern Advocate photographer John Stone went along for the fun too.

It barely stopped raining during Saturday’s It! Bay of Islands Food and Wine Festival but that didn’t dampen anyone’s fun. More than 1500 people enjoyed The Black Seeds, Strangely Arousing, 5K, Inertia and others at Paihia’s Village Green. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

Kerikeri’s Old Packhouse Market held an Oyster “Feastival” on Saturday to celebrate its first birthday. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

The power went out across almost the entire Far North on Friday. Some businesses were forced to close; others improvised, especially in Paihia, where the arrival of the first cruise ship of the season meant closing wasn't an option. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

Village Arts Gallery in Kohukohu, North Hokianga, celebrated its 10th birthday on Saturday with a new exhibition and a get-together of volunteers past and present. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

Crafty folk took over part of Whangarei at the weekend, with colourful and creative results. Held at the Whangarei Club in Rust Ave on Saturday, the Crafty People Winter Market featured a variety of stall-holders selling a range of arts and crafts. Northern Advocate photographer Tania Whyte went along to capture the creativity.

Northland College’s hall was packed on September 17 with performers and proud parents as hundreds of schoolchildren showed their skill in waiata, action songs, haka and hip-hop. The annual Northland Primary Schools Cultural festival began several years ago as a chance for pupils of Kaikohe East and Kaikohe West School to perform for each other; since then it has grown into a fully fledged festival featuring schools from across the Mid North. Participating schools included Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Kaikohe, Kaikohe Christian School, Kaikohe East School, Kaikohe West School, Te Kura o Horeke, Ohaeawai School and Tautoro School. Photos by Debbie Beadle.

The kids of DDF Dance Studios perform at Springbank School's market day near Kerikeri on Sunday. Check out their moves, and 10-year-old Te Mamaeroa's reactions when she finds out just how wet and cold the ground is...

The kids of Springbank School near Kerikeri tested their business ideas and sales skills on the public with a market day featuring more than 50 student companies on Sunday. Their products ranged from bows and arrows to Darth Vader-themed dark chocolate, fashion accessories and crystal-growing kits. Instead of paying tax the students had to donate 25 per cent of their profits to the charity of their choice. The market day also featured live music, a dance group, food stalls, bouncy castles and rides. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

More than 1330 people of all ages ran and walked their way along a picturesque course for the Whangarei Half Marathon yesterday. Competitors took part in five different categories covering the 21km half marathon or shorter 9km course in Whangarei as part of the Sport Northland Run/Walk Series. This year’s half marathon featured picturesque harbour and coastal views, starting at the Town Basin and going through the sculpture garden, and across Te Matau a Pohe bridge and Kotuitui Whiti footbridge. There were drink stations every 3km and entertainment along the course. Northern Advocate photographer Tania Whyte went along to capture these images.

Almost the entire 134-strong roll of Kaeo Primary took to the stage last week to perform in the biennial school production. Held at Whangaroa Community Hall to sell-out audiences on Wednesday and Thursday nights, the show featured plays by the junior, middle and senior schools. The junior item was based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood while the middle school pupils went time-travelling on Burt Munro’s Indian motorcycle to visit iconic New Zealanders such as Maui, Kupe, Fred Dagg, Billy T James, the Topp Twins and Sir Edmund Hillary. Finally, the senior kids performed a play in which a bloke called Pinecone — aided by a courageous mob of sheep, a talking dog and various other animals — saved Kaeo Valley from the clutches of a greedy developer planning to turn it into an urban wasteland. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

From fashionable folk to fast horses, there was plenty of action at Ruakaka Races on Saturday. The race meeting was also a fund-raising day for Cancer Society Northland and the event was held in honour of the Ruakaka Races’ past president, the late Dean Logan. Northern Advocate photographer John Stone captured some of the actio

A selection of winning images by Kerikeri photographers Jess Burges, Rachel Jordan, Dean Wright and Yasmin Zahra Mark from the recent NZ Institute of Professional Photographers Iris Awards. Some images have been cropped to fit our website's fixed image sizes.

The Tutukaka Mid-Winter Festival has had a range of fun events throughout August, with the festival wrapping up on September 5 with the Poor Knights Crossing race, NZ’s toughest open ocean downwind paddling event with 30km of open ocean paddling that will test the abilities of the best open ocean athletes. But on Saturday there was the ADBA Tutukaka Dragonboat Regatta — Super 10 and yesterday the Ray White Raft Race. Northern Advocate photographer John Stone went along both days to capture the action.

Everything from lip scrub to calendars celebrating female firefighters was for sale at the Young Enterprise Scheme’s annual trade fair on Saturday, held for the first time at the Old Packhouse Market in Kerikeri. Twenty-four companies took part in the fair, a chance for Northland high school students to test their business skills on the public and earn a few dollars selling their wares. Photos by Peter de Graaf. WINNERS: 1 Little Habits Boutique, Whangarei Girls’ High; 2 The Happy Girl, Kerikeri High; 3 Charity Case, Whangarei Girls’ High. Customer choice: Fudj, Kerikeri High.

A Northland statue with a long and intriguing history – Our Lady of the Highway, known simply as Matou Whaea to locals – has been restored and returned to a hillside overlooking SH12 in South Hokianga. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

Hardy winter stand-up paddleboarders braved cool conditions for the Tutukaka Surf Battle of the Harbour SUP Race on Saturday. Twenty-seven paddlers took part in the race organised by Simon Eggington over a circuit inside the harbour as part of the Tutukaka Coast Winter Festival activities. Alan Johnson won the surf division while Karl Roberts took line honours in the race board division and John Kearney won the sprint. Photographer Michael Cunningham was on the water for the race action.

Kerikeri’s Turner Centre celebrated its 10th anniversary on August 5 with a variety concert showcasing the best of Far North kapa haka, opera, rock, piano, dance, comic theatre and song. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

The Bay of Islands Jazz and Blues Festival celebrated its 30th anniversary over the weekend with one of its strongest line-ups to date. More than 40 acts from the US, Australia and New Zealand performed at seven venues in Paihia, Russell and Haruru Falls, with this year’s headline act New Orleans jazz trombonist Robert Harris. Photos by Peter de Graaf.

The Whangarei Racing Club’s New Season Race Day event at Ruakaka on Saturday didn’t pull a big crowd of spectators but the gees-gees and their handlers still put on a great show. The “M” word was on a few trainers’ lips as a couple of the horses were talked-up for outings across the ditch — a Melbourne Spring Carnival Cox Plate on the cards and, possibly in the future for at least one, a tilt at the Melbourne Cup. Meanwhile, the drier turf of Ruakaka offered an ideal place for horses from wetter fields to stretch out. Story page 32. John Stone took some photos.

Police dogs and puppies in training with handlers. Photos/supplied.

Russell was buzzing at the weekend for the annual Birdman Festival that brings together a number of events to keep people entertained from Friday to Sunday. The weekend has mural painting, a drag race with a difference (the male contestants dress up in drag to run along the Russell foreshore), a scavenger hunt, a Kidzone at the Russell Town Hall, dinghy races, a Wok Cook Off and to stop everything being too tasteful, a spaghetti-eating contest. The big event, though, was the Birdman Competition in which colourful competitors competed to see who could “fly” the furthest off Russell Wharf. Tim Grant was the Birdman winner in a flax-winged unit. No one got past the seven-metre buoy, so the distance prize carries on to next year, adding $1000 to take the amount $3000. Advocate reporter Lindy Laird and photographer Stephen Western captured these images of the weekend fun.

Corridor ceilings lined with mould, teachers falling through rotten floors and water leaks causing power outages. This is the painful reality for one Northland school. Bay of Islands College principal John Paitai took Northern Advocate reporter Jessica Roden for a walk around the substandard and unhealthy school.

More than 160 children aged 8-12 braved mud, hill climbs and the coldest day of the year so far to take part in the annual Mid North inter-school cross country race at Takou Bay. The participating schools were Bay of Islands International Academy, Kaeo Primary, Kerikeri Christian, Kerikeri High, Kerikeri Primary, Oromahoe, Riverview and Springbank. The race was run on a cold but sunny June 23 at Landcorp’s Kapiro Station with St John on hand to treat any injuries. Photos by Peter de Graaf.