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Thousands poured into Baxter Street for the Festival of Lights in 2019.
The Mahurangi Winter Festival of Lights returns next month to brighten up the school holidays at the coldest and bleakest time of the year, with a blaze of colour, good food and good fun.
The event kicks off with the Parade of Lights on Saturday, July 10, when the Warkworth Wharf area will be filled with amusements and rides, face painting, bouncy castles, food trucks and a stage featuring live music from 3pm.
The parade will get underway at 6.30pm, as darkness descends, with illuminated floats of all kinds.
They will travel from the Paper Plus Car Park, down Queen Street and around the roundabout at the bottom of Neville Street.
The inaugural parade in 2019 saw everything from an illuminated hearse, giant globe, to a brass band and fire trucks.
Organiser Murray Chapman says illuminated walkers and children on lit-up bikes and scooters would also fit right in with the parade, and he encourages as much inventiveness as possible.
“Put granny in a wheelchair and string her up with lights,” he says.
Also lit up will be the trees in Wharf Street and those across the water on other side of the Mahurangi River.
The parade will be followed up with the Laser Light Show on Saturday, July 17. From 1pm, Warkworth’s Baxter Street will be transformed, with the dumping of tonnes of snow to form a giant snow pit to play in, a cannon to bury kids in foam, a disco den in the Masonic Hall and an ice skating rink.
Proceeds from a gold coin donation for skaters using the rink will support the Mahu Vision Community Trust.
In addition, there will be more amusement rides, food stalls and live entertainment.
From 6pm the laser light and music show, sponsored by Gull Matakana and Gull Snells Beach, will brighten up the night sky. Each laser show lasts for 15 minutes. There is then a 15 minute break before the next show and the last show will be at 8.30pm.
New this year is a Tunnel of Lights to wander through for those in a more reflective or romantic mood, and another projected light show beamed onto the rear wall of the Old Masonic Hall.
The following weekend, on Sunday, July 25, The Glow Show – a stage show featuring giant illuminated puppets will take place at the Warkworth Town Hall.
The Wonderland Glow Show is at 1.30pm and 3pm is a Kiwi-fied interpretation of Alice in Wonderland.
The first session is aimed at children aged 0 to five and the second session is for children aged six to 12. Tickets to the shows are available from www.eventfinda.co.nz.
Murray says in addition to the three main events, a light display is planned for Snells Beach on July 11 and Leigh will be lit up on July 23.
Moreover, throughout the school holiday period (July 10-24) shops and businesses will be ablaze with lights, with prizes awarded for the most impressive displays.
Murray says the whole idea of the winter festival is to bring people into the Mahurangi area, brighten things up, and at the same time put on something that is not going to cost Mum and Dad a huge amount of money.
He says previous winter festivals have proved a boon for business, with nearby restaurants and cafes doing a roaring trade, as well as the food trucks participating in the festival directly.
Murray says the event is run entirely by volunteers and he is eager to hear from people willing to help with setting up and taking down various attractions.
He also wants to hear from those wanting to put a float in the parade.
Email: murray@onemahurangi.co.nz
