Entertainment, late-night shopping opportunities, and more at Hāwera winter festival

Drag queen Erika (left), Brett, Bernice and Isabella Mills, and Coco Flash. Photo / Supplied

Happy crowds flocked into the Hāwera CBD for the fourth annual winter festival.

The weather thankfully held out long enough to enjoy a bite to eat and a visit to the open High St shops, along the way enjoying a kaleidoscope of stalls, entertainment, colour, culture, and diversity.

"It was never going to be your average night in Hāwera and that's the magic," says Racquel Cleaver, chairwoman of Bizlink Hāwera, the business association that organised the event.

"Creating an event like this is like concocting a magic potion, a dash of African drumming and a smattering of light projection, a pinch of drag queen entertainment all make for a tasteful and entertaining night."

Racquel wanted to thank everybody involved in making the night such a success for the community, including all the stallholders, entertainers, volunteers, businesses and the Bizlink co-ordinator, Nikki Watson.

The night was certainly a testament to the community's spirit.

Unity Wara was the main entertainment in the town square and she did not disappoint.

She held the floor with her strong, soulful voice and stage presence, then took her place twice in the night joining in with the Fire and Flow team from New Plymouth, who each had their own soundtrack performances.

Unity works with Tansi Productions and brought along their giant LED puppet heads who interacted and entertained with wondrous faces in awe of such luminary. Occasionally, we were also treated to a visit from mascots Olaf and Gertie the cow.

Not far from the square you could hear an invitation to explore the beat of drums from the Whanganui Drumming Group, which encouraged participants to join in their repetitive rhythms. It wasn't very often that the spare drums and extra rattle instruments weren't utilised by curious children.

The drag queens were indeed the biggest hit of the night.

"The three of them were true professionals and had all the magic ingredients of personality, wit, and dynamism," says Nikki Watson coordinator at Bizlink.

"After being asked to take multiple photos from an adoring crowd, they left Hāwera feeling welcomed, which filled me with a sense of pride. I cringe if a visitor gets the wrong impression of our town, to me that's one of its best attributes, it's welcoming and friendly."