Last year's Supreme Birdman title went to Pania Sigley (left) and Maryanne Hooson, though the aftermath of a storm meant contestants were unable to jump off Russell wharf. PICTURE / PETER DE GRAAF
Last year's Supreme Birdman title went to Pania Sigley (left) and Maryanne Hooson, though the aftermath of a storm meant contestants were unable to jump off Russell wharf. PICTURE / PETER DE GRAAF
A weekly round-up of news snippets, events and oddities from the Bay of Islands and around the Mid North
Calling all Birdmen
It's that time of year again when would-be Birdmen need to start building flying contraptions and designing outlandish outfits.
The eighth annual Russell Birdman Festival will be held on July 10-12. The prize for the longest "flight" from the end of Russell wharf has jackpotted to $2000because last year's contestants were unable to jump after a huge storm left the sea awash with debris.
While the Birdman jump is the festival highlight, there are plenty of other activities spread over three days such as a spaghetti-eating contest, a barbecue cook-off, an Elvis ball and Friday night's notorious drag race. And we don't mean the kind of drag race that involves fast cars.
Kiwi singer/songwriter Ginny Blackmore, R&B singer Peter T and Kerikeri's own Troy Kingi are the stars of a Queen's Birthday weekend "Royal Bash" on Paihia's Village Green.
The show will place under a giant marquee dubbed the Paihia Pavilion on Saturday, May 30, with gates opening at 4pm. A DJ will entertain between sets and and food and drink stalls will keep royal revellers sated. Tickets from Ticketek. See www.theroyalbash.com for more information.
Ginny Blackmore stars in Saturday's Royal Bash on Paihia's Village Green. PHOTO / SUPPLIED
Calling all fashionistas
If you think the words 'op shop' and 'fashion' don't go together, you've never been to a Paihia Op Shop Fashion Parade.
This year's event will take place at Alongside (on the waterfront next to 35 degrees South) from 7pm on Wednesday, June 3.
All clothing in the parade will be on sale after the show. Tickets are $10 from Paihia Op Shop on Selwyn Rd and include a drink and nibbles. The event is a fundraiser for Focus Paihia and its town beautification projects.
Calling all bakers
Fire up your ovens, dust off your recipe books and prime your piping bags - it's time again for Russell's annual Ultimate Cake Bake-off and Auction.
The event takes place at 11am on Sunday, May 31 in the Russell Town Hall. Organisers promise lots of prizes and a celebrity judge.
Entry forms are available from Russell School and shops around the town. The Russell Baptist Church event is a fundraiser for Russell School's yellowtail fishing team and other community groups.
Student art on show
The results of a two-day visual arts master class for high school students are on show in the Turner Centre's Theatre Bar.
Five Year 12 and 13 arts students from the Bay of Islands and Whangaroa took part in the April 9-10 class, led by renowned painter and ceramic artist Scott McFarlane and organised by the ArtsXL Trust.
The show is open from 9am-4pm daily until June 15.
Danielle Hookway, 17, was one of five high school students in a visual arts master class last school holidays. PHOTO / PETER DE GRAAF
Kings Theatre winter events
Kings Theatre Creative, in the old cinema on Kawakawa's main street, is promising a winter packed with art shows and events.
The current exhibition, Wairua, a group show celebrating spirit and marking 100 years since the Gallipoli landings, has been extended to June 1.
It will be followed by Seven Sisters, an all-female show celebrating Matariki and mana wahine, from June 12 to mid-July, and Tamariki Toi, a school holiday art programme for 9-17 year olds with workshops led by top artists in street art, set design, animation, painting and drawing. In August the gallery will host a film and literature festival in conjunction with the Northland Society of Authors. Kings Theatre Creative is open 10.30am-4pm Thursday to Sunday.
The makers of a new TV series are asking Northlanders to scour their attics for old home movies. The catch is, the footage has to be in colour and date from the 1950s.
Decades in Colour will trace New Zealand history from the 1950s to the 70s through the lens of home film makers. The producers are looking for major events as well as footage of everyday family life.
Email decades@greenstonetv.com and make sure you include your phone number.
Showcase in Kohukohu
The latest exhibition at Village Arts in Kohukohu features "guerilla knitting installations" or baskets woven from old rope, jandals, copper wire and other flotsam found around the Whangaroa Harbour. Other works on show are by Lynsie Austin, Lz McAuliffe, Rachel Miller, Lindsay Antrobus Evans, Marg Morrow and others. The Showcase runs until June 11.
If you're passionate about sport in the Kaikohe area and you have leadership and financial management skills, Kaikohe Sportsville wants to hear from you.
Sportsville is currently looking for a fourth board member. The ideal appointee will have a range of skills and experience complementing those of the other members. The position is unpaid and for an 18-month term.
Kaikohe and Districts Sportsville aims to improve cooperation between sporting codes in the Kaikohe area by providing shared sporting facilities. See www.kaikohesport.org.nz for more information. Applications can be emailed to mike@kaikohesport.org.nz by June 12.
Do you have news or an upcoming event you'd like to see in this column? Send it to us, including your full contact details, to baynews@northernadvocate.co.nz.
