Supporting local infrastructure and celebrating creativity

Supporting local infrastructure and celebrating creativity was a key focus of the August Te Hiku and Kaikohe-Hokianga community board meetings, with three community groups receiving a share of over $11,000.

The Kaitāia Business Association was granted $7095 to maintain gardens and installations as part of the Kaitāia Street Cleanup. This effort aims to improve the town’s appearance in preparation for summer and the Mangamuka Gorge reopening, scheduled for December.

Annie Tothill was granted $1800 towards the 2024 Artisans Affair craft event which will be held on 6-7 September 2024 at Te Ahu in Kaitāia. More than 35 local exhibitors will be on show over the two days. This is Kaitāia’s only annual indoor show of its size and a celebration to show off the creative talents the Far North has to offer.

The Kaikohe- Hokianga Community Board has granted Te Kotahitanga e Mahi Kaha Trust $3000 towards a Movie Night as part of Te Wiki o Te Reo 2024 in Kaikohe.

Te Wiki o Te Reo is a campaign launched by the trust on 16 August to increase the level of te reo Māori use by using a traffic light lanyard system. A green lanyard is beginner, orange is an intermediate speaker, and red is fluent te reo Māori use.

The movie night and mini festival will be a finale to the campaign and take place at Memorial Park at 6pm on 21 September. The trust has been given permission from Disney to play Coco Reo Māori. The event will include stalls, food and activities. Bring blankets, bean bags or chairs, and enjoy the night.

This event was established after the trust surveyed the community on what was wanted. Support for a movie night was the second most popular preference after holding a Matariki, which was successfully held earlier this year.