Karen Taylor (left) and Marion Redfern (seated) will be hosting a spinning and weaving open day on their craft at the Whangārei Silver Festival co-organised with WDC's Positive Ageing Advisory Group whose members include (from left) David Baldwin, Cr Marie Olsen, chair Neil McLeod and Robin Lieffering Photo / Michael Cunningham
Karen Taylor (left) and Marion Redfern (seated) will be hosting a spinning and weaving open day on their craft at the Whangārei Silver Festival co-organised with WDC's Positive Ageing Advisory Group whose members include (from left) David Baldwin, Cr Marie Olsen, chair Neil McLeod and Robin Lieffering Photo / Michael Cunningham
More than 1000 people are expected at the Whangārei Silver Festival in New Zealand’s northernmost city next month.
The Whangārei Silver Festival will be held over two weeks in early November – more than double its 2022 duration due to demand.
The festival celebrates the district’s 20,500 people who are aged 65 and over - about 20 per cent of the area’s population. That number has increased by almost 50 per cent in the last decade – up from just under 14,000 in 2012.
Whangārei District Council (WDC) Positive Ageing Group (PAAG) chairman Neil McLeod, 75, said older people made an important contribution to Whangārei.
He said the district’s growing 65-plus community was the festival’s main focus, but people of all ages were welcome.
Whangārei Positive Ageing Advisory Group chair Neil McLeod Photo / Michael Cunningham
The festival will be held over 14 days from November 6 to 19. It aims to connect older people and encourage them to try new things.
There will be 126 different opportunities on offer from more than 40 organisations over the festival, which is being held in Whangārei, Ruakākā, Tūtūkākā and Waipū.
The two-week event is hosted by Whangārei District Council (WDC)’s Positive Ageing Group (PAAG) in conjunction with the council.
McLeod said clubs and groups across the district had banded together to offer dozens of different events.
“It’s a great celebration for our older adults, to acknowledge their important role and contribution to Whangārei, inspiring new hobbies and interests and providing ways for them to make new connections,” McLeod, a WDC councillor from 1998 to 2004, said.
The 2023 Whangārei Silver Festival will be the third for the event which continues to grow.
“Try something new, discover what is on in our district and most importantly, enjoy making connections,” McLeod said.
“Step out of your comfort space and try something new. Bring a friend or make it a family event. Look for the child-friendly icon in the programme (for those events suitable for bringing grandchildren).”
Robin Lieffering started the Whangārei Silver Festival, now in its third year Photo / Michael Cunningham
The festival was started by PAAG immediate past chairwoman Robin Lieffering, 82, after seeing something similar in Perth, Western Australia.
She brought the idea to Whangārei and the first festival was held on a smaller scale in 2021.
Lieffering was awarded a WDC Civic Honour in recognition of her decades of community service last night (SUBS: October 19).
The former WDC councillor from 1998 to 2007 said previous festivals had proved a hit with participants.
“There were a number of people who tried things for the first time,” Lieffering said.
She said the festival aimed to connect the community’s older people to combat isolation. This was a growing issue that needed more addressing for the district’s ever-increasing number of older people.
Lieffering said the reference to silver came from the typically prevailing hair colour of those who were 65-plus.
Festival options are offered across a wide range of venues. The event programme identifies which options are close to public transport. SuperGold card users can travel free between 9am and 3pm on weekdays and Saturdays.
WDC manager venues and events Bea Mossop said festival options offered opportunities for older people to explore what was available around the district, try something different, make new friends, get active and creative and most importantly have fun.
Morning tea at the Hundertwasser art centre in the Whangārei Town Basin on November 15 will be among festival offerings.
Other festival opportunities include:
A piano concert with New Zealand pianist Richard Mapp,
