Pahiatua On Track is now Explore Pahiatua

Pahiatua School's entry in last year's Pahiatua Christmas Parade.

Pahiatua On Track has undergone a name change in an endeavour to help bring together organisations that work in our community to promote the town, local businesses and encourage community involvement.

Pahiatua On Track created the town brand Explore Pahiatua several years ago and it has been considered timely to change the name of the council-funded community committee to totally reflect its aims and goals and to bring unity and continuity to the town brand.

Leeroy Harris, 17, is on the newly elected Explore Pahiatua Community Committee.

Now flying alongside the local brand Explore Pahiatua, Pahiatua On Track has rebranded to become Explore Pahiatua Community Committee, and together with the newly established local Business Group, the brand will grow from strength to strength.

Pahiatua District Business Group will also use and promote the Explore Pahiatua brand to unify and help bring together the organisations that work across all sectors, to promote Pahiatua and enhance our town's brand.

The decision was made at the annual general meeting of the society in October, to change the incorporated society name to Explore Pahiatua Incorporated.

It has long been felt that these entities go hand in hand and together will create a much stronger base for promoting activities and events, for enhancing our community wellbeing, by creating an inclusive brand that best describes their goals.

The first elected Explore Pahiatua Community Committee was also created at the AGM, with Louise Powick continuing in the role of chairwoman for another 12 months.

The rest of the committee members elected are John Arends - deputy chairman, Fiona Stokes - secretary, Gerry Parker - treasurer, with Rhys Punler, Ingrid de Graaf and Leeroy Harris making up the rest of the committee, together with council representation.

Ingrid also holds the portfolio for the newly formed Pahiatua District Business Group, which has established its core values, together with a mission statement that best describes its role in the community.

With Christmas looming on the horizon, plans are well under way for this year's inaugural Explore Christmas Twilight Parade. Explore Pahiatua Community Committee is working closely with Pahiatua Rotary to launch this new initiative, a first for the Tararua district.

Over the years, the four main Tararua towns' Christmas parades have clashed, which limits resources and the ability for families to attend more than one parade in their own district.

The Dannevirke Highland Pipe Band has traditionally had to leave midway through the Pahiatua parade in order to make it to Dannevirke or Woodville's Christmas Parade because they have been held on the same day. This bold move by the Explore Christmas organisers will mean these clashes will become a thing of the past.

This year's event will see the Main Street closed from 3pm until 8.30pm on Saturday, December 4, to enable the Christmas parade, a night market and the Christmas in the Park concert all to take place uninterrupted and without creating any disruption to the town's businesses. Eateries are being encouraged to join in the festivities with stalls set up on the footpaths, or on the roadside.

A Covid safety plan will be formulated in accordance with government regulations in the event the district is still at Covid level 2 at the beginning of December.

The 2021 Explore Christmas Twilight Parade and Night Market will be the first large event showcasing the newly completed Main Street upgrade, which provides a unique setting for community events.