Papakura news briefs

Christmas in Papakura’s town centre

Papakura shoppers will be firmly in Christmas mode at the end of November when the town’s new Christmas decorations go up.


Papakura District Council has freshened the “look” of Christmas in the town centre. The new bright red and gold bows now combine with other Yuletide favourites, there are new Christmas-themed flags going up throughout the town centre and Selwyn Arcade will this year host Santa on his pre Christmas tour to meet the younger set and hear what they want for Christmas.


The decorations will be in place in time for Papakura’s second Kiwi Made Market, and market organiser Lisa Philp says the event will give local people an ideal opportunity to tick off Christmas gift purchases with plenty of time before the usual last minute Christmas rush.


The Kiwi Made Market will be held Friday 30 November from 3.00 pm until 7.00 pm with the last market of the year to be held on Friday 21 December. Markets will return in 2008.

 

Free family fun at Christmas events

Papakura’s Christmas season begins in earnest with the district’s popular annual Christmas weekend of free family fun events, this year to be held December 7 and 8.


The weekend starts on Friday December 7 with Carols in the Park, a chance for families to gather and sing along to their favourite Christmas carols starting at 6.30 pm in Central Park with performances from many of the district’s schools and dance groups.


Acts on stage that evening will include the Papakura City Bass Band, Combined Primary School Childrens’ Choir led by Lynnette Leggett, Papakura Stake LDS Childrens Choir, Asher Dance Group, Exalt Dance Group, Redhill Primary School Jump Jam along with Vincent Harder, who played Simba in the Lion King (Sydney), Justin Haiu (dancer, Lion King Sydney and Shanghai) and special performances throughout the night from the band Late 80's Mercedes.


The following day Santa comes to town with the district’s own Christmas parade, featuring decorated “floats”, street bands, drum groups, marching teams and of course the man himself, Saint Nicholas.


All floats in the parade are entered in one or more categories for judging which will take place between 12.30 and 1.30. The parade starts from Opaheke Road at 2.00 pm and travels down Chapel Road, turning right into Great South Road, right onto Broadway, right onto Railway Street West to Central Park.


Always a firm favourite with the community of all ages, the parade enables spectators to support the many local groups taking part in the parade and gives children a chance to catch sight of Saint Nick himself.


Then on the evening of that day a free Movie under the Stars screens at Central Park: the animated musical comedy Happy Feet, a firm favourite with children of all ages


Building on Papakura’s successful movie series in 2006, this is the last movie of 2007.


It is an opportunity for local people to bring a blanket and enjoy a family picnic or buy food from one of the on-site food outlets, settle in and enjoy some great family entertainment. The evening starts at 6 pm, with the movie getting under way around 8.30 pm.


In the event of bad weather, the Christmas weekend events will be cancelled.

Pre-Christmas road safety reminder

Papakura Police with the assistance of Plunket and road safety staff from Papakura District Council will be conducting seat belt, child seat restraint and general road safety awareness checks in the district in coming weeks.


The checks are intended to remind local motorists that they need to focus on safety in the busy weeks leading up to Christmas.


Information about safety in cars with special emphasis on children will be handed out at the random seat belt/child seat restraint checkpoints, which will be carried out in late November and early December.


Police will be writing infringement notices where motorists have not complied with seatbelt and child seat restraint laws. In the same campaign last year, nine infringements were issued.

“Rockets and space” for summer reading at Sir Edmund Hillary Library

Papakura library staff are once more preparing their popular summer holiday reading programmes for the younger set.


This year the programme theme is “Rockets and Space” and as always there are two reading programmes: Rocket into Reading, a programme for children ages 5 – 11; and Extreme Readplus! for 12-15 year olds.


Children enrolling in the Rocket into Reading programme receive their own special folder and are able to check out books to read to their hearts’ content at home, with four Library “report-in” days for children to swap ideas and report back on the books they have read.


Extreme ReadPlus! for the 12-15 year age group gives young people the chance to read a wide range if the library’s teen titles during the summer break.


Both programmes end with a celebration and presentation of certificates.


The library’s summer holiday reading programmes are always popular, and places are limited. Children or their parents can enrol from 9.30am Tuesday 27 November at the library on the fourth floor of Accent Point. The programmes run from 11 December 2007 to 24 January 2008, with the report-in days during the end of the term staged for after school hours.


More information is available from the Sir Edmund Hillary Library, phone 978 2665

Papakura’s Neat Streets named and great gardens celebrated

Passion, dedication, attention to detail: the 2007 Harcourts Spring Garden and Neat Street Awards brought out the best in the district’s gardeners.


Judges of this year’s awards, Graham and Carol Viall, say they were surprised at the hours and creativity put into gardens and streets by entrants.


“There was even a story that one resident was seen out clipping grass around a power pole with scissors to make sure the lengths were all nice and even!”


The awards celebrate the care, attention and dedication people lavish on their gardens and homes. They recognise people's love of their surroundings and the value placed on them.


Through the Neat Street awards, the community is encouraged to take pride in where they live, liaise with their neighbours and enter to win one of six 'Neat Street' signs which is attached to the lamppost at the beginning of the street.


Graham Viall said he was also surprised by the presentation of homes around those of the category winners – and that the owners of these homes had not entered the awards.


“Something to think about for next year perhaps.”


The 2007 Harcourts Neat Street and Garden competition winners are:


Best Residential Garden under 1600 sqm

1st Mr and Mrs Richards Longford Park Drive
2nd Mr J Dougherty Takatu Place
3rd Mr and Mrs B Ranken Callis Ave



Best Lifestyle Garden over 1600 sqm

1st Mr and Mrs G Biggelaar Butterworth Ave
Highly Commended Jill Payne Flanagan Road



Best Business Garden

1st Selwyn Oaks Youngs Road
Highly Commended Laminex Group Hunua Road



Best Garden from the Road

1st Mr and Mrs Richards Longford Park Drive
2nd Mr and Mrs G Harker Fairview Ave
3rd Colleen Stewart Fairview Ave



Neat Streets

Westholm Way
Alf Walker Place
Fairview Ave
Freelance Terrace
Graham Tagg Close
Viola Crescent



Highly Commended

Lorelei Place Mrs K Curtis