| Time to shine! The Mahurangi Winter Festival of Lights is back this July! To make your business stand out from the crowd you have two choices:You can string Fairy lights up in your business windows and be a part of making the town sparkle and shine.You can decide, bah humbug! And not light up anything in which case you can be that beacon of darkness among the lights.Each year I come down onto the main streets around Warkworth and watch families wandering about looking at the lights. Often I will overhear the children looking at a lit shop window and say, “Oh Mum, good shop!” And at an unlit shop, they will say, “Oh Mum, bad shop!” The Mahurangi Winter Festival of Lights is a wonderful opportunity for you and your staff to get creative and make your premises stand out. Like last year, Mitre 10 Mega Warkworth has provided us with a $500 voucher for the best business window lights display! Mitre 10 also have a good stock of lights, and they will not put a strain on your budget. This is our chance to make a statement that this is a great place to visit during the winter especially over the July school holidays when there is a lot to do: SAT 9th July: Warkworth ITM Parade of Lights. From 3 to 9 pm down on the wharf. There will be rides, food trucks, amusements and music and then at 6 pm the Parade. Light anything up, promote your business or just wrap lights around the family and walk in the Parade, we meet in the Paper Plus carpark from 5pm. If you are bringing a vehicle you will need to enter the carpark from Mill Lane as Queen Street will be closed. I look forward to seeing you there. SAT 23rd July: Big Finale and Gull Laser Light Show held in Baxter Street from 3 to 9pm, this will again feature rides, food trucks, and amusements which will include a snow pit, a lit disco floor in the old Masonic Hall, and a fun zone in the New World carpark which will include face painters, illuminated mini-golf and a number of Virtual Reality goggles. The Laser show will start at 6 pm with a clash between Good and Evil and will continue for 15 minutes every half hour. For more information about the festival visit www.mahulightfestival.nz All of this activity is designed to bring people into Warkworth town and give families an opportunity to go to an event that won’t cost them a fortune. One Mahurangi would like to encourage businesses to take advantage of this increase in foot traffic into the area. Think about how you can draw people into your store or business either during the events or at some point in the future. Lighting up your business would be a good start in getting noticed! Obviously, with such high foot traffic, there will be a few road closures during these events but remember it only happens once a year so please be patient with our traffic marshalls. They have everyone’s safety to consider. As we have always said, we are Stronger Together so let’s all get in behind this festival. I look forward to seeing the town lit up and once again having Warkworth known as the winter town of lights! |
 Murray Chapman Manager, One Mahurangi Business Association murray@onemahurangi.co.nz www.onemahurangi.co.nz Support Local, Buy Local, Employ Local, Love Local! |
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