The story begins with a dying miller who leaves his fortune to his two dim-witted sons, and one shilling and a cat to his stepson Jack. With a little help from a good fairy, Jack seeks and finds his fortune "in the most magical and wonderful way".
Tickets are $25 adults, $18 students (11-18) and $12 (10 and under).
Free concert
A fun, free concert with a serious message is being held in Kaikohe's Memorial Park from 2-6pm tomorrow.
Raumati Fest will feature reggae performers House of Shem, Majic and One Tribe. The youth performing arts group Tu Ake, which is hosting the festival, will launch a new single called I'll Be Here For You, about suicide prevention and supporting young people through life changes.
Cooking up a storm
Celebrity cook Jo Seagar has been sharing her top tips and recipes with Kerikeri foodies as part of a fundraiser for Hospice Mid Northland.
The two-day visit started on December 2 with talks at Kingston House and the Honey House, Heritage New Zealand's cafe next to Kemp House, followed by a three-hour cooking workshop at Flourflower on Waipapa Rd the following day. There she dispensed lots of cooking tips, prepared ten recipes, and shared the results with the participants.
Alexa Bell, who runs Flourflower along with sister-in-law Sandy Hamilton, said Ms Seagar was a "total professional" and impressed by the facilities in Kerikeri.
Volunteers of the Kerikeri Cooking Club took on the catering for 110 people at Kingston House and 45 at the Honey House, as well as the preparation for the Flourflower event.
Garage sale fundraiser
A group of Springbank School students are holding a "mega" garage sale from 8am-1pm this Saturday at 5 Riverview Road, Kerikeri, to raise money for a trip to Sydney in February. Clothes, toys, books, household items and sports equipment will be for sale.
The school's Year 12 art students are heading across the Tasman for five days to see, among other things, the exhibition Pop To Popism, showcasing iconic works of 1960s artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
They are also holding raffles and sausage sizzles as they try to raise $10,000.
Carols at Pompallier
Pompallier Mission and New Zealand's oldest church, Christ Church in Russell, will come together this Saturday for an evening of Christmas carols.
Northland groups and soloists will perform traditional favourites as well as modern Christmas songs from 6pm in the historic gardens of Pompallier Mission. Admission free; bring a picnic and a rug. If wet the event will be held in Christ Church.
Books for kids
The children of inmates at Ngawha Prison will get the gift of reading this Christmas thanks to Waipapa Rotary Club.
Every year the club holds a second-hand book fair at BaySport Stadium, and however many thousands they sell, there's always books left over. This year, following an approach by prison staff, the leftover children's books will be distributed to prisoners' families.
Prison manager David Pattinson said he was grateful for the donation.
"It's heart warming that organisations in our communities give thought to the children of prisoners and making them feel special at Christmas time, and they will appreciate it," he said.
Proceeds from the book fair pay for community projects and youth support programmes.
Men wanted
Kerikeri Rotary Club is looking for good keen men to help set up a Men's Shed, a place where blokes can gather to socialise and use their handyman skills to benefit the community.
Anyone who wants to get involved can register interest via the 'Volunteer' tab in the Get Involved section of the club's website (kerikerirotaryclub.org) and let Rotary know of any interests, skills or equipment they would be willing to contribute to the project. Would-be participants can also call John Graham on (09) 407 9510 or email secretary@kerikerirotaryclub.org.
Men's Sheds are typically workshops where men can gather to share and teach skills and work on personal or community projects, individually or as a group. Existing Men's Sheds around New Zealand have built playgrounds for pre-school centres, repaired toy library stock, fixed old bicycles and built planter boxes to beautify town centres.
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