Make it Your Business to Switch Off on Saturday Night
Tuesday 23 March 2010, 8:18AM
By Hawke's Bay Regional Council
362 views
Hawke’s Bay residents and businesses are tuning in to turning off this year with the fourth annual Earth Hour switch off coming up on Saturday, March 27.
Earth Hour is an international campaign, encouraging people to turn off the lights and electrical appliances to promote climate change. Earth Hour is about making simple changes that will collectively make a difference – from businesses turning off their lights when offices are empty, to households turning off appliances rather than leaving them on standby.
In 2009, Earth Hour became the world’s largest environmental campaign, with nearly one billion people in 88 countries – including 1.5million New Zealanders - turning off their lights for one hour.
Hastings District Council and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council are challenging businesses across the region to ‘switch-off’ for the hour of darkness, between 8.30 and 9.30pm.
Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule says some businesses are the taking the challenge as an opportunity to give their customers something different.
“I know of several restaurants having candle-lit dining for the evening as a way to recognize the event. There are loads of businesses organizing to have their bright signage turned off that night and Unison is shutting down a whole block around the Opera House during the hour of darkness,” Mayor Yule says.
“The Opera House itself will be one of hundreds of iconic landmarks around the world that will be plunged into the black, including the pyramids in Egypt, the Coliseum in Rome, Sydney’s Opera House and New Zealand’s own Beehive. If they can do it we can all do our own small part to help the environment,” Mayor Yule says.
And you don’t have to sit in the darkness at home to recognise Earth Hour.
Hawke’s Bay’s big Earth Hour event will be held at the Hawke’s Bay Opera House from 7pm, with the crowd enjoying entertainment up until and through the hour of darkness.
Attendees can expect acoustics music, African and Brazilian drumming and then after the big countdown spine-tingling performances from Kahurangi Kapa Haka, Wesley Church Samoan Choir, fire dancing, a ghost story and a bagpiper.
Sponsored by Hastings District Council, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, Unison, MoreFM and Hawke’s Bay Opera House, this event promises to be one the whole family can enjoy, with a FREE sausage sizzle and burgers on offer. The Opera House will also have their bar open from 7pm.
The event will also have stalls to raise awareness of climate change issues, inspire the community to change their energy habits and information on how to do that.