A new event is planned for Rotorua, one that isn't the usual fare one might expect from our part of the country - a mid-winter festival.
As we report today, Fire and Ice will offer ice skating and a bunch of other activities, including activities around Matariki, the Maori New Year, combining for what should be some great fun for all.
The event has come about as a result of the city bringing in a temporary ice skating rink, which will be set up at the lakefront and which formed the basis of the idea for the mid-winter festival.
Any new event is great for our city, even a one-off.
Events add colour, vibrancy and culture to a city and, of course, they also bring in people from outside the area; people who spend money on accommodation, food, tourist attractions, perhaps do a little shopping, eat out, enjoy some socialising in our bars, fill up their cars at our petrol stations.
