All you need to know about the Bay of Plenty long weekend

Baypark Stadium will be fully transformed today ahead of the jetsprints this weekend. Richard Wilson and Matthew Minnell are gearing up for the event. Photo / Andrew Warner

Local businesses and event organisers are gearing up for the influx of thousands of visitors coming to Bay of Plenty this long weekend.

ASB Baypark stadium is undergoing a huge makeover ahead of the 2018 ENZED Jetsprint Stadium Cup where a race track has been dug out and two million litres of water is being pumped into the stadium.

Event director Pip Minnell said a huge amount of energy had gone into preparing the arena ahead of the event this weekend and the stadium would be ready to go around noon today. "Progress is going to plan and tickets are selling steadily," Minnell said.

Tourism Bay of Plenty head of marketing Kath Low was delighted Tauranga had so much on offer throughout the long weekend to appeal to so many people.

She said the number of people who came to the Bay was measured by visitor spending numbers.

"There are so many fabulous events occurring at the same time so we envisage visitor spend during the weekend will be up on last year," Low said.

Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stan Gregec said businesses across the Bay will be gearing up for the influx of visitors this weekend.

"This is a big weekend for retailers and the hospitality sector. The weather looks good and people will be out and about and spending."

Manager of The Barrio Brothers Mount Maunganui, Katie Short, said she was preparing the restaurant for the upcoming long weekend.

She said the popular restaurant had been "super busy" throughout the summer period already.

"It will probably get busier on Saturday and Sunday, all you can do is order more stock and roster extra staff on.

"We're pumped and ready for it," Short said.

Mount Maunganui Surf Club general manager Glenn Bradley said it would be a traditionally busy long weekend.

The Surf Life Saving New Zealand 2018 Eastern Region Championships will be held at Mount Main Beach, which was expected to attract even more people to the beach.

"It will be one of those weekends where everyone needs to be extra vigilant. Don't overestimate your abilities in the water and don't underestimate the power of the ocean," he said.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand national lifesaving manager Allan Mundy, from Omanu Surf Lifesaving Club, said there was a decent swell which would continue over the weekend.

"We are urging parents to keep a really close eye on on their children. To avoid getting into grief keep them within arm's reach at all times," he said.

Mundy said swimmers needed to be especially vigilant during the afternoons as the increasing swell meant rips were stronger than usual as the tide went out.

MetService meteorologist Tui McInnes said Tauranga was set for a warm long weekend with a low chance of a few showers.

"The weekend will be mostly fine with a chance of afternoon showers on Friday and Saturday, but this diminishes as we move into Sunday."

He said Monday was looking fine with a bit of cloud about.

The high temperatures the Bay had experienced over the week would drop slightly with the hottest temperatures getting up to 27C, McInnes said.

With high temperatures set to continue, Waikato and Bay of Plenty Cancer Society chief executive Shelley Campbell said the most important thing to remember when out in the sun was to "slip, slop, slap and wrap".

She said statistics showed more people died from melanoma each year than were killed in road crashes so it was incredibly important to protect yourself from the sun.

"Don't forget to apply sunscreen liberally at least 20 minutes before you go outside and reapply often - every two hours or more often if you are swimming or sweating."

EVENTS

Friday

What- DinoFest (January 25-28)
Where-Sydenham Botanic Park

What- Mount Maunganui Lions and Lioness 18th Annual Book Fair (January 26-28)
Where- Mount Maunganui Sports Centre

What- Surf Life Saving New Zealand 2018 Eastern Region Championships (January 26-28)
Where- Main Beach and Grove Ave, Mount Maunganui

Saturday

What-ENZED 2018 Jetsprint Stadium Cup
Where-Baypark Stadium

What-One Love 2018 (January 27/28)
Where- Tauranga Domain

What-The Rusty Mannequin Clothing Sale
Where-The Historic Village, Seventeenth Ave West, Tauranga

What-Trustpower Photographic Exhibition (January 27-March 25)
Where- The Strand, Tauranga

Sunday

What- Blackcaps v Pakistan 3rd T20
Where- Bay Oval

What are you doing this long weekend?

"We are going to watch the Wizard of Oz on Saturday."
Anna Standen, Otumoetai
"I'll probably go for a walk up the Mount."
Liz Standen-Penn, Otumoetai
"Taking the kids to Dino Fest on Saturday."
Ruby Little, Greerton
"We've got family visiting us for the weekend."
Murray Clark, Pyes Pa