The Tauranga city centre is set to get an injection of festive spirit from next week with colorful installations appearing around the inner-city streets in the lead up to Christmas.
Tauranga City Council and the Incubator Creative Hub will join efforts for the third consecutive year to bring a local community and arts focused buzz to the city centre by showcasing a range of outdoor kowhaiwhai styled Christmas trees, large Christmas crackers and street flags.
Twelve plywood pohutukawa trees designed by Ashlei Luckman-Taupaki will be re-decorated by local community groups including education and health providers.
Over 800 individually designed Christmas tree baubles will soon adorn the trees in a public art display for everyone to enjoy.
Tanya Trass, Project Lead at the Incubator is very excited about the artwork that has been flooding in over the past few weeks.
“It has been a busy few weeks organising artworks here at the Incubator and visiting community groups involved in painting and decorating,” Tanya said.
“We’ve been in contact with some amazing community groups such as Gifts of Recovery and Voyce Whakarongo Mai, and you’ll just need to come down to the city centre to see the trees they’ve decorated and to learn more about what these groups do in our community,” Tanya said.
In addition, for its second year, Tauranga City Council and Downtown Tauranga will be installing the giant advent calendar in Red Square for everyone to enjoy while visiting the city centre. The exterior image has again been created by Rochelle O’Loan who has continued the theme from last year with the addition of some cheeky elves.
Local community groups and artists have also been the major contributors in creating the displays, with one window per day being opened starting from 1 December.
Like the traditional cardboard advent calendar, each window has a unique display representative of the community group or organisation that made it.
Fiona Corkery, Downtown Tauranga representative, is thrilled with the way this year’s advent calendar has come together.
“What makes this advent calendar unique and special, apart from its sheer size, is the wonderful depictions of what each of these community organisations and groups stand for.
There are some great stories captured and the first of them will be revealed on 1 December, when it is officially opened,” Fiona said.
Also set to captivate audiences are twenty-one life sized mannequins showcasing iconic Christmas fashion made from mainly recycled items. Created by local artists, they will form part of a dynamic Christmas exhibition that opens in Goddards Shopping Centre on Saturday 23 November and will be open to the public through until Christmas. There will be a limited number on display at the Piccadilly Arcade.
A collaborative project between Tauranga City Council, Downtown Tauranga and Goddards Shopping Centre, this unique exhibition will be a must to visit with plenty to delight across the generations.
Upcoming Christmas parades and events:
Pakn’Save Papamoa Kiwiana Xmas Parade – Sunday 24 November, 7 Gravatt Road, Papamoa Unlimited
Trustpower Christmas Parade – Saturday 30 November
Followed by CCS’ Disability Action, Celebrate us, a family friendly event and concert – Tauranga Waterfront. (Little Big Markets will be there 9am to 3pm.)
Tauranga’s Christmas in the Park – Blake Park, Mount Maunganui, Saturday 7 December
A Night Before Christmas – Bethlehem, Bethlehem College Field, Saturday, 21 December
Christmas Carols on the Waterfront – Edgewater Fan, Tauranga Waterfront, Sunday 22 December
Link to road closure information for the summer holiday period:
https://www.tauranga.govt.nz/Portals/0/data/council/roads/files/summer_road_closures.pdf
NOTES:
The advent calendar is scheduled to be installed at the Red Square on 26 November. For a photo opportunity contact Fiona Corkery at Downtown Tauranga on 07 577 1630.