The winner of the last YES Trade Fair in Kerikeri was Innoluminate for its glow-in-the-dark light switches (pictured: Chief executive Nicholas Fewtrell of Kerikeri and Lara Thorne of Paihia).
The winner of the last YES Trade Fair in Kerikeri was Innoluminate for its glow-in-the-dark light switches (pictured: Chief executive Nicholas Fewtrell of Kerikeri and Lara Thorne of Paihia).
A weekly round-up of news snippets, events and oddities from the Bay of Islands and around the Mid North
Student businesses set to woo shoppers
Northland's young entrepreneurs and future business magnates have a chance to showcase their ideas to the public - and shift some of their product - at a trade fair in Kerikeri this weekend.
The Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) is a hands-on business programme in which high school students set up a real company, create a real product or service, and make a real profit or loss.
One of the highlights is an annual trade fair in which student companies show off their wares and try to win over a panel of judges.
This year's fair will be held in the Old Packhouse Market on Kerikeri Rd from 8am-1.30pm on Saturday.
Just under 30 student companies from Taipa in the north to Ruawai in the south will take part, selling everything from coffee and kumara chips to corsages and website development.
One team has set up a business organising themed children's parties; another has produced a calendar encouraging women to sign up as volunteer firefighters.
Businesses will be judged on stall presentation, promotional materials, money handling, innovation and sales techniques. A large proportion of the final score is based on willingness to engage with the public.
People who come along will be able to cast a vote for their favourite company and anyone who makes a purchase will go into the draw to win one of two $250 supermarket vouchers.
Coordinator Gary Larkan said holding the trade fair at the Old Packhouse Market would allow the students to capitalise on the venue's considerable foot traffic.
"We've never had anything like this to tap into before. It will benefit the market stallholders as well. We're all quite excited about it," he said.
Past winners include student companies making glow-in-the-dark light switches, a bikini which changes colour when wet, and stick-on surfboard wax. Last year's fair was held on Whangarei's Canopy Bridge.
Pig hunt clocks up 30 years
Kaeo Hunting and Fishing Club is holding its 30th annual competition starting tomorrow. About 400 people are expected to take part in the three-day event hosted by Kaeo Rugby Club. Weigh-ins will be held from 5-7pm on Friday and noon to 3pm on Saturday.
Prizes will be awarded for the heaviest and closest to average weight pigs and snapper. Youngsters will compete in an eel fishing contest. Spot prizes include a set of 4x4 tyres on Friday and $1000 cash on Saturday.
Twenty-three pigs were weighed in last year; organiser Ross Guy is hoping for at least that many this week.
Proceeds go to a different cause every year. This year's recipients will be Kaeo junior rugby and an Okaihau vet trying to find a cure for the "go-slow" disease affecting Northland pig dogs.
Focus Paihia is holding a public meeting early next month about its plans for a world-class mountain bike park in Waitangi Forest.
The meeting, on September 3 in the Scenic Hotel (corner of Seaview and MacMurray Rd), will start with Focus Paihia's AGM at 7pm followed by the bike park presentation from 7.30-8pm.
The idea behind the park is to create a land-based, year-round activity to attract people to the Bay of Islands in the off season, as well as creating healthy recreation opportunities for locals. It will be modelled on the massively successful bike park in Rotorua's Whakarewarewa Forest.
Possum on the menu
A Bay of Islands environmental group has adopted a novel approach to combating pests - eating them.
Bay Bush Action (BBA) held a "possum pie party" at Waitangi Yacht Club last Saturday to celebrate the group's achievements and thank its volunteers and donors.
The back legs of 80 possums caught in the Otangaroa area were cooked and turned into 130 pies, all but a few of which were eaten by the 70-plus guests.
BBA trustee Brad Windust said the pies were "really good".
"Most people said they tasted really similar to beef."
Prizes were awarded to competitors in the group's community trap line challenge with Opua's Les Feasey drawing the top prize of a snorkelling trip to the Poor Knights Islands.
The Opua community's trap line targeting possums, rats and stoats has caught more than 850 pests to date.
A month-long series of film and literature sessions continues at Kings Theatre Creative this Sunday with live performances by poets from the Far North and Whangarei.
The impromptu, open-mic session starts at 1pm and runs to 4pm. The following and final Sunday session is on documentaries and short film.
So close ...
Two Bay of Islands high school acts reached the final 30 in the national Smokefreerockquest but alas didn't make the final cut.
Back 2 Back, a four-piece band from Kerikeri, impressed judges in the Far North finals with their finely-honed musical skills and the way they didn't miss a beat when their lead singer's microphone failed.
Elsa Meier from Opua won the solo/duo category of the Far North final and also made it through to the top 30.
Kerikeri High School band Back 2 back has just missed out on a place in the national Smokefreerockquest final.
Competition is intense in the Smokefreerockquest, which has launched the careers of many top Kiwi musicians. Seven hundred bands and solo artists competed in 23 regional contests; the winners were further whittled down to 30 on the basis of a video performance, and earlier this month just nine were selected for the national final.
The only Northland band in the final so far is Waipu thrash-metal trio Alien Weaponry.
Fundraising brekkie ...
A Daffodil Day breakfast is being held at the Kingsgate Auto Lodge in Paihia on Friday, August 28, to raise money for the Cancer Society Northland.
Tickets cost $21 and are available from Gold 'n Gifts on Williams Rd or by calling Adam Morley on 021 189 2996. Breakfast starts at 7.30am.
The Kaikohe RSA is hosting a quiz night on Wednesday, August 26, with all proceeds going to the Cancer Society. Entry costs $60 per team of up to six people.
To register see Lynda Mayall at the ANZ in Kaikohe or email Cam Sutherland at camsutherland1@gmail.com. The quiz kicks off at 7pm.
Possum poison training
Mid Northerners, including senior secondary students, are being offered free possum poison training early next month as part of Project Possum.
About 350 mainly young Northlanders have so far gained hands-on knowledge of possum trapping, fur and pelt recovery over the past five years via Project Possum.
The programme is run under the Enviroschools banner, supported by Northland Regional Council biosecurity staff and training consultant Geoff Allinson.
Three years ago the project was extended to include separate Controlled Substance Licence (CSL) training for people aged 17-plus, subject to a police check.
The council is seeking registrations for three day-long CSL courses at Trefoil Park near Kaikohe. The first, on September 1, is aimed at students seeking a CSL for cyanide only.
The second and third courses, on September 3 and 4, will be offered to adults and encompass training for several toxins. Contact Susan Karels at the NRC on (0800) 002 004 or email susank@nrc.govt.nz.
Thrive expo
A four-month programme helping Far Northerners turn their social enterprise ideas into reality wraps up with an expo in Kerikeri this Friday.
Twenty-five teams and individuals took part in Far North Thrive. They will showcase their achievements and ideas from 3-6pm at the Kerikeri RSA on Cobham Rd.
The course, which was delivered by the Akina Foundation and the Far North District Council, was a chance to explore new ideas and learn how to start a successful social enterprise.
A social enterprise is a business created primarily to benefit the community, for example by providing jobs for long-term unemployed (such as CBEC in Kaitaia), improving health, or creating community assets.
Do you have news or an upcoming event you'd like to see in this column? Tell us about it, including your full contact details, by emailing baynews@northernadvocate.co.nz.
