Whangārei Speedway Club captain Chris Youens and secretary Moana Laurence are making sure a community parade goes ahead. Photo / Tania Whyte
Whangārei Speedway Club captain Chris Youens and secretary Moana Laurence are making sure a community parade goes ahead. Photo / Tania Whyte
Santa is coming to town now that Whangārei Speedway has picked up the baton in a bid to ensure the Christmas spirit thrives.
The race is on to plan an event in time, so organisers are putting the call out to schools, preschools, business owners and the community to get involved and join their Christmas parade on December 16.
“As soon as I saw it that night it came out in the paper I just sort of had a light-bulb moment. I thought ‘Why can’t it be on grounds where we don’t have to close the road’?”
“I just thought ... we’ve got it.”
She met with committee members and soon had them all on board and ready to create a community event.
Her phone has been “going off non-stop” since putting the call out on Facebook on Wednesday — but there’s more required to ensure this is a community event.
“Going forward we would really love for the community — groups, schools, preschools, kindys, and businesses to jump on board,” she said.
“It doesn’t take much to do up a work ute or a school van or a parents trailer.”
Already businesses and preschools have reached out offering up candyfloss, slushies, and bouncy castles. Other people have expressed interest in hosting stalls.
While planning, advertising, sorting and admin come naturally to Laurence, she said this event “is quite nerve-racking” because it’s a whole community involved.
“It’s not just for our club any more. It’s for a community. But all I can think of is it’s for the kids.”
Her message to the community is to help “bring the magic back for the kids”.
Whangārei Speedway has provided the perfect venue for Santa to visit. Photo / Michael Cunningham
“Surely when you were growing up you had that magic. The Christmas parade, the gatherings. Bring it back for these kids. Let that sparkle come back into our community.”
Whangārei Speedway is seeking interest from families, groups, workplaces and the community to create a float or donate to a worthy cause.
It will be hosted at Whangārei Speedway, 278 Port Rd, on Saturday, December 16. Festivities will start at 9am and the parade at 11am.
Brodie Stone is the education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie recently graduated from Massey University and has a special interest in the environment and investigative reporting.
