It’s all about community this Matariki weekend.
By MBBA.
The Mercury Bay Business Association and The Mercury Bay Community Events Support Trust are excited to bring the Mercury Bay region two exciting community events over the Matariki Weekend – The Whitianga Night Street Festival and The Whitianga Night Strider.
First up is the Whitianga Night Street Festival – Thursday the 13th of July. Taking place in the centre of Whitianga, Albert Street with the street being closed to traffic from 3pm – 9pm. The town will come alive with live music, meals and deals thanks to the town’s local musicians, businesses, and foodies.
Proudly sponsored by Bayleys Whitianga, the Whitianga Waterways stage will be in the Whitianga Plaza, located next to Mainly Casual and will house a great line up of music – showcasing a number of our very talented local musicians.
A number of shops along Albert Street will be open with a selection of great deals and offerings, so it’s a great opportunity to support local.
Make sure you bring your appetite as our local hospitality sector will be in full swing with some fantastic food offerings, including some of our local food trucks serving tasty treats. An exciting cultural addition, thanks to our local Filipino community, is the inclusion of their exciting street food menu to the festival.
The Night Market provides a great opportunity for a number of our community groups to raise money for some exciting trips and projects in the area and there will be much on offer.
The Night Market will bring young and old, family and friends together and add some festivity to the Matariki weekend by providing somewhere for people to come together for the evening and experience the different elements that our beautiful village has on offer.
A second Matariki weekend event for the family is The Night Strider, which is back this year, after a very successful event held in 2020.
Held on Buffalo Beach Reserve on Friday the 14th, this fun night run that has been designed to create a sense of enjoyment, excitement and provide the opportunity for community involvement. Based off multiple successful night runs located around the country, it’s Mercury Bays turn to pull out those torches, headlamps and head down to the beach for an exciting fun run – designed for everyone! Take the 3km or 5km course along the beach and path track, that you can either run or walk dressed up in costumes. With music cranking thanks to CFM, the night has been designed to bring families and friends together – bringing out the slight competitive side in everyone. It’s an opportunity to get dressed up and make for an entertaining night out for everyone – and no, you don’t need to be an athlete to take part, it’s all about having fun as a community!
We’re calling all community groups, sporting groups and alike to challenge each other, on best dressed, best time, most entries, all in the sense of coming together – so grab your mates and make a great night of it!
To keep up to date with what’s happening, make sure you follow Discover Whitianga – The MBBA on social media. Let’s create an exciting Matariki weekend!
Caption: Vegas Brown.