Coromandel news

Art Gecko 2023

One sunny afternoon long ago the four founding members of what would become Art Gecko gathered together to play a few simple tunes, little realizing what it would develop into. While musicians have come and gone, a core group of us have now been playing together for over 20 years. We have differing abilities, come from diverse backgrounds and span the generations but one common thread binds us together - a love of playing music and an enjoyment in the band camaraderie.

We play a lot of community, club and charity events, and in May this year we had the thrill of playing to a crowd of over 1,000 people at the Waikato Hospice “Bucket List Banquet” at the Claudelands Event Centre. This was a fantastic event and raised a lot of money for a worthwhile cause.

With up to ten members and four different vocalists we play an eclectic and wide range of music, whilst retaining a “jazzy” feel to our style. We hope you enjoy our performance as much as we do.

Jeweller shares her story at CBA

Coromandel business Association The CCBA hosted a business breakfast at Umu Cafe on 6 September with guest speaker Julie Pijfers. Julie is an artisan who designs and manufactures special pieces of jewellery from her iconic heritage shop in the heart of Coromandel town. Julie spoke of her journey to becoming a designer jeweller (fun fact - she was a hairdresser before her career change).

As well as loving her profession, Julie loves the heritage and history of Coromandel town - her husband's lineage is deeply entrenched in the area and it was an easy choice to make when they were looking for an area to settle in to progress and grow the business. Julie's shop is open 7 days a week from 10am.

Captions: Art Gecko Information and Julie Pijfers.