Fun and games at free Children's Day event in Whangārei

Ruben, mum Dearne, Zephaniah, Khadijah, and Vianca Williams have fun at the last Children's Day event in Whangārei. Photo / Tania Whyte

You've heard of Mother's Day and Father's Day but this weekend is all about celebrating the little ones.

Children's Day - being held on Sunday - is an international day to honour children and their rights which was first proclaimed at the World Conference for the Wellbeing of Children in 1925, and established universally in 1954.

Mindy Telfer, Children's Day Whangārei organising committee member, said the event was celebrated in different ways around the world, but Whangārei would be celebrating with a free event at The Pulse filled with lots of activities for the whole whānau.

"For Whangārei, Children's Day is being celebrated with a community approach. Lots of organisations that work with children and families come together to provide a free interactive day for children, so they can have fun. And it's all free so families can access and enjoy."

Telfer said it was important to celebrate children because "they're our taonga".

"If we acknowledge and treasure our children they're going to grow to be well adjusted adults really. It's important to treasure them ... They're our generation of tomorrow," she said.

There are lots of activities planned for Sunday including fun games, a bouncy castle, face painting, a sausage sizzle, a stage where there will be lots of entertainment, and more.

"There's about 29 or 30 stall holders confirmed for this year and each stallholder is an organisation and they volunteer their resources and staff to set up a stall that provides an interactive activity for children."

Telfer said in a bid to remove barriers which may prevent people from going to the event, there would be free buses running to and from The Pulse.

"We're trying to make it accessible for anyone who may not have a car so this makes it possible for them to come in too."

The event runs from 10am to 1pm. Visit facebook.com/childyouthfriendlycities for more information including bus times and locations.