Putting the fire in Taupō's fireworks display are event sponsor Jamie Keehan (left), Rotary Lake Taupō president elect Bronwyn Mullions, and president Jackie Robinson.
Putting the fire in Taupō's fireworks display are event sponsor Jamie Keehan (left), Rotary Lake Taupō president elect Bronwyn Mullions, and president Jackie Robinson.
After three years of cancelled displays and uncertainty, Taupō's November fireworks display is back and set to be as big as ever.
Last held in 2020, the evening laser and fireworks show had been a staple of Taupō's Guy Fawkes Night celebrations since 1994.
The event was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions in 2021, and last year lost its long-time sponsor, Starlight Cinema, after it was sold.
With no sponsor to be found, the display was shelved by organisers Lake Taupō Rotary.
Lake Taupō Rotary president Jackie Robinson said hope was fading to revive the beloved event.
However, a last-ditch plea was answered by a local business owner with experience in providing family entertainment.
Jamie Keehan, owner of The Landing, stepped into the breach as the show’s eleventh-hour main sponsor.
The event will now become The Drop Zone Big Bang, named for The Landing’s bowling and trampoline park.
Taupō's fireworks display has been a staple since 1994, but was cancelled in 2021 and last year.
Keehan said growing up in Taupō, he saw how important the annual display was for locals.
“My story is pretty much having grown up here all my life and actually seeing that event, to me it was like a must-have rather than a want.
“So many people have missed it and have been left with nothing on Guy Fawkes Night.”
“When I heard from Jackie that there was a possibility that it might not happen, I had to do something.
“The feelgood factor was too hard to turn away from.”
Rotary was still seeking smaller sponsors to shore up the event, which is projected to cost about $80,000 to stage.
That’s a price increase of about 33 per cent since the last time it was held, in 2020, with fireworks, equipment hire and staff all more expensive than ever before.
As well as stepping into the naming sponsor role, Keehan was offering an incentive to entice other would-be sponsors; any business signed up before October 15 would get a 10 per cent discount on Christmas functions at The Landing.
Jackie Robinson said Taupō District Council had once again stepped up to offer Owen Delany Park free, and other vendors had given generous rates, but they still needed an additional boost to ensure the event could go ahead on the same scale as previously.
“We’re 80 per cent sure we can put this on, we just need a few more sponsors to get us over the line.”
The hope was that all the things locals have come to enjoy over the years would be back, including the full fireworks display, laser show, food vendors, bouncy castles and children’s film screening.
The display is set for Friday, November 3, with a poor-weather backup date of Saturday, November 4.
“Hopefully, it’ll give the community a bit of a lift; I think we all need it.
