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Don’t be surprised to see the bars and restaurants of Orewa filled with people dressed as Santas, reindeers and elves on December 1.
Orewa Lions is bringing its inaugural Orewa Santa Session – an R18, Christmas-themed charity event, to town.
It is styled after one that has been held in Manly, Sydney for more than 15 years, attracting around 1000 participants. Last year the Manly Santa Sunday Session raised around $40,000 for charity.
Organiser of the Orewa Santa Session, Clive Hebben, says the Sydney event has given its blessing to this new spinoff.
Participants, dress in festive style, pay $20 and get a wristband that gives them access to special food and drink offers at eight bars in Orewa. The dress code is anything Christmas-related.
“Some people get fully into it and wear Santa costumes and baubles, but you can also just put on a Santa hat or reindeer antlers,” Clive says. “We are not expecting anything the size of the Sydney event this year, but we hope to make it an annual event and grow it year by year into a massive fundraiser.”
All the participating bars will have live music on the day. The event runs from 2pm-7pm.
The idea is for participants to have a great time in the lead up to Christmas, and to raise as much as possible for the mental health support organisation I Am Hope.
Clive says it’s the first time the event has been held in New Zealand and ticket sales are going well.
Orewa Lions hope to raise as much as $10,000 for I Am Hope from ticket sales, donations by participating businesses and public donations put in buckets on the day.
Tickets: look for Orewa Santa Session on Facebook or at eventbrite.co.nz
