One Mahurangi – Santa prepares for big day out

“We don’t know how lucky we are” were the words from One Mahurangi’s co-chair, Dave Stott, on returning from a trip around the UK and Europe. While the trip abroad was rich and rewarding, coming back home made him appreciate again what a great place this country and, indeed, this area is. As part of that richness, One Mahurangi has started planning for the Santa Parade which will be held on Sunday, December 4. It would be wonderful to have as many floats in the parade as possible, as this will be the first Santa Parade in two years.

The route for the parade has changed this year to make it easier for people to see all the floats and ease of access for spectators and participants alike. The parade will start in Baxter Street at 11am and will go along Queen Street, up through the Paper Plus Carpark, behind Bayleys, coming out onto Mill Lane, and back onto Queen Street. It will then go down Kapanui Street onto the wharf, up Wharf Street, left into Queen and into Baxter Street to the very end, where they will turn and come back along Queen Street, Paper Plus carpark and back into Queen Street, down Kapanui and finishing on the wharf. The Santa Parade’s main sponsor this year is Fletcher Acciona, along with sponsorship from Warkworth Toyota.

This will make the route much flatter and easier for our marshalls to keep people safe. We will as always need volunteers to help on the day for traffic control, so please contact me for more details.
We will be taking Santa out on his sleigh around the streets of Warkworth on December 6 and around Snells Beach, Matakana and Point Wells on December 7. Both will start at 5.30pm.

We do welcome other local businesses that would like to be a part of this iconic event that brings many people into our town. Should you wish to be involved in the parade, there are a number of opportunities. Providing gift vouchers from your local business as prizes for participants is just one example, but please reach out to me if you want to be involved. The more the merrier!

As we head into the warmer weather and the number of visitors to town starts to rise, it is worthwhile doing a small audit on the outside and inside of your business. As a suggestion, get someone else to look at your business with fresh eyes. Are there weeds that need to be pulled, perhaps a bit of paint to smarten it up and make it more attractive to visitors? This is a chance to brighten up your business before it gets too busy. You won’t regret it.

By the time you read this update, One Mahurangi will have held its AGM and I want to thank those business people who attended and those who put their hands up to give their time and energy to be a part of our committee. These are people who understand that we are stronger together.