The Waimarie is doing a special cruise on Sunday afternoon to celebrate Easter. Photo / Bevan Conley
"I like the town and the people. They know how to have a good time. We always do pretty well at the smaller centres, they have a more laid back, fun attitude."
Gordon said his show focused on the magnificence of the performers, without the use of loud music or animals.
Performances include all the classics such as juggling, clown acts, acrobatics, aerial manoeuvres, hula-hoop displays, unicycle riding and rola-bola.
The Easter Maize Maze in Feilding is returning this year after being cancelled due to Covid-19 in 2020.
The event for the whole family will be running on Friday, Saturday and Sunday where the Easter Bunny will be running around hiding thousands of eggs throughout the three days.
The mission is to find the bunny, find the eggs and then find your way out of the four hectares of maize. The hunt takes around 20 to 40 minutes.
In the Ruapehu district, three local brewers will be showcased at the Ohakune Beer Festival on Saturday.
Ruapehu Brewing Co out of Ohakune and Roots Brewing Co and Lads Brewing Co from Whanganui will be at Kings Bar in Ohakune all Saturday celebrating small independent breweries.
Metservice meteorologist Dan Corrigan said there was an easing trend heading into the weekend after a days of heavy rain.
"You expect the south-easterlies to be not too strong, but pretty significant, you will feel it," he said.
On Good Friday, weather expected to be pretty dry with showers developing later in the day.
Sunnier weather is expected to return for the long weekend. Photo / File
Going into the weekend, the showers should fade away and those south-easterlies dying down.
"It's going to be a mostly fine weekend with a bit cloud increasing on Sunday. It's looking like a dry weekend in Whanganui.
"It's looking to be quite warm for this time of year. We are looking at a high of 20 degrees on Saturday and 21 degrees on Sunday," said Corrigan.
A few showers are expected on Easter Monday, with northwesterlies blowing through and a predicted high of 22 degrees.
Big weekend for churches
Three local churches are kicking off their Easter weekend celebrations with a combined service at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church on Thursday evening.
St Andrew's will be joined by Westmere Memorial Presbyterian Church and St Paul's-St Mark's Presbyterian Church for the Thursday night service.
"This to me is the highlight of the year," local ordained minister in training for St Paul's-St Mark's Shirley Spooner said.
"It's always really, really good when the churches come together. Three ministers will have a different part in that service.
Spooner said it was one of the most intense weekends of the year, with Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
"It should be full of life and fun. We would invite anyone who would like to come along and celebrate with us. It will be a really great weekend."
Road safety
With many more people on the roads travelling between regions police will be out in force.
This Easter long weekend police are reminding drivers to slow down and minimise distractions by putting their phone down, and buckling up.
"We want to ensure everyone can enjoy their Easter holiday plans, and return home safely," Inspector Pete Jones, acting director national road policing centre said.
"To make sure that happens, road safety starts before you get behind the wheel – are you well rested, have you eaten and are you hydrated?
"Once you're in the car, don't speed, drive to the conditions, wear your seatbelt and be patient. There will be a lot of traffic on the road so be courteous and keep a safe following distance."
