Circus Kumuranis' Mat Manamat, teaching Dargaville kids how to use an aerial hoop. Photo/ Supplied
Circus Kumurani celebrates its 13th Circus Festival next year in Paparoa.
Moved from its usual Waipoua Forest site, it hopes for larger crowds due to the easier access from Auckland and Whangārei.
There is much to do during the three day event, with workshops, crafts, stalls and shows to entertain the day stayers or the overnight campers.
The festival is booked for January 11-13 and has normally been well attended.
Audiences come for the experienced routines of the Kumurani team and other performers from around the country who will show off their fire spinning, juggling, unicycle riding and aerial skills.
Circus Kumurani started 15 years ago in Dargaville and shares knowledge through workshops and performances throughout Northland.
Tickets for the Northland Circus Festival can be bought online at Circuskumurani.co.nz . It will be held at the War Memorial Hall and A&P Showgrounds and starts on Friday, January 11, at 9am.
Kaipara District Council requested proposals from artists to design a mural for the band rotunda toilets in Dargaville in June to update what was becoming a tired location.
In recent weeks this has come to fruition with Sarah C Creations "injecting colour and vibrancy into the recreational space" as per the brief.
Inspired by the local environment, Sarah C, who prefers to go by C as her surname, adapted some of her previous work to fit the requirements of the Victoria St location and the visual she wanted.
"This modern, bold style contrasts really well with the abstract woven pattern. Which represents the river, Māori culture, early kai gathering kite, and the woven texture of cultures, tourists and locals that pass though and live in Dargaville".
Sarah C is a local designer and artist based in the Kaipara.
Born in Mangawhai, she headed south to Auckland, where she held a successful art studio in West Auckland, after years working as a graphic designer.
She returned home to Mangawhai in 2011 and continues to sell and create art work from her studio at home.
C has completed many public murals around Auckland with her most recent work at Sellars Reserve, by the harbour waterfront in Mangawhai.
The meningococcal immunisation programme was completed this week in the Kaipara.
At Dargaville's Te Ha, Pouto's Rangitane Hall, Kaiwaka's Kates place and Tinopai School, DHB staff delivered and issued vaccines direct to the rural communities.
Individuals were eligible for the vaccination if they lived in Northland and were aged between 9 months and 5 years or within the 13- to 19-year-old category.
It was targeted towards these demographics because the youngest are most at risk to be infected and teenagers are more likely to infect others because they are carriers of the bacterium that causes the disease.
More than 5000 vaccines across Northland have been given, which will lower the number of carriers and hopefully stop the spread of meningococcal disease in Northland, where there has been the highest number of cases and deaths per population nationwide.
It is estimated the free vaccine against four strains of meningococcal disease, including A, C,W and Y (but not for B), will cost the Ministry of Health between $1 and $2 million.
It is unknown whether any further inoculations will be available for the general public as there is a shortage internationally and nationally.
However, should you or anyone you know have symptoms such as fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, stiff neck, rash, drowsiness or irritability, medical help should be sought.
Meningococcal disease is spread person to person through secretion and respiratory droplets such as sneezing or coughing and is known to be difficult to diagnose and fast to progress. Seek medical advice if you have any concerns.
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