Awanui Day to celebrate beautiful Far North tiny town

The annual Awanui Day attracts thousands of people to the tiny Far North town, with this year’s event on November 2

Awanui Day is back, with the annual event drawing thousands to the beautiful tiny Far North town with a big heart.

The annual Awanui Day is back on November 2, with crowds of more than 6000 expected to flock to the town that is the gateway to Ninety Mile Beach.

This year, everything will be set up around the Awanui Reserve and playground area, so the tamariki can play while the adults relax, enjoy some tunes, grab a bite and check out the stalls, all in one spot. The event is so popular that all the stall spaces have already sold out, and the excitement level in the town is rising.

The event puts Awanui on the map and comes after it was named Most Beautiful Tiny Town in the country at the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards last year.

The town has a population of fewer than 400, but Awanui Day sees the place swell with visitors and is built around the Northland Riders’ Motorcycle Club’s Treble T Poker Run to Cape Reinga, when up to 600 bikes take part, and also features plenty of family-friendly entertainment.

The rally attracted up to 600 motorcycles from throughout the North Island, which would arrive on the Friday, then, after breakfast, head off on the 90km ride to the cape, then head back from about 10.30am on Saturday.

The Awanui Progressive and Ratepayers Association was right behind the event and the aim was to make Awanui the centre of activities – and a real destination – for people going to Cape Reinga.

As well as the bike ride and entertainment, Awanui Day was a great chance to show off the Far North’s arts, crafts and artisan food producers, many of which would have displays on the day. Riverside Museum would be displaying photos from the town’s long history and there would be hot rods, custom and classic cars, with a number of demonstrations.

The town had really progressed over the past few years, thanks partly to the Te Hiku Open Spaces Revitalisation Project, on which work began in April 2021, funded by a $7 million grant from the Government’s Provincial Growth Fund.