Summer heat bakes children at Greerton family day

FAMILY FUN: The Greerton Family Festival was all about fun and food for Maxine Quinn, left, and her sister Rorie. PHOTO / GEORGE NOVAK

In the shade, away from the baking sun, a pint-sized girl is getting her face painted.

Maxine Quinn, 3, looks pretty happy with the image taking shape on her left cheek as a teenaged volunteer dabs away with a brush.

What is it?

"A spider web."

What colour is it?

"Paint."

Your favourite thing today?

"Food."

And there was plenty of food on offer at the third-annual Greerton Family Festival, which was held at Greerton Village School today. The event was organised by volunteers with community sponsors, and featured good Kiwi tucker such as a free hangi and a free sausage sizzle.

Maxine's 6-year-old sister, Rorie, said her favourite things about the festival were the candyfloss and the animals.

"I saw, like, a chicken and a swan and guinea pigs and a rabbit," she said.

The fashion-conscious Rorie chose to be face-painted with a cat, which she felt "would go perfectly" with her attire because "there's a picture of a basket on my top and there could be a cat in there".

There were plenty of fun events involving sack races, an inflatable bungee and a jousting ring. Afterwards, local musicians played to a diminishing crowd as the 28C heat took its toll on youngsters.

Co-organiser Tina Salisbury said 2000 people had attended earlier in the day, which was twice as many people as last year, but they had "all bailed out because it's so hot".

The day had still been fabulous, she said.

"We wanted to celebrate Waitangi Day and we've seen all kinds of different people here."

Mrs Salisbury's husband, Mark, said the event was organised by Journey Vineyard Church and backed by sponsors including SmartVets, Fresh Direct and First Sovereign Trust.

"Bless them," he said. "We're a church and we want love in our community."