Full steam ahead for 2022 Waipā events
Optimism remains for summer events in Waipā as Council allocated funding from the District Promotion Fund to three events on Tuesday 19 October 2021.
The events to be held in Waipā that were allocated funding are the New Zealand ‘Big Air’ Nationals who received $4,000, ORO Dressage by the Lake at Takapoto Estate who received $4,000 and the Wake NZ 2022 National Championships who received $2,000 by the District Promotion Committee.
A high level of vaccinations would be positive for the events industry and critical to ensuring large events can go ahead again, says Council.
Council’s Event and Marketing Advisor, Claire Culph, said she hoped the country would be able to enjoy a summer of events.
“Event organisers seem to still be nervous about continuing with event plans because there is no guarantee that we will reduce alert levels, but we remain hopeful to get a summer full of events. It is such an enjoyable time for the district. Everyone gets out and about with their families and it’s a very busy time for all involved.”
Mighty River Domain Site Manager and Waipā District Council Deputy Mayor Liz Stolwyk, said that they have received a fair share of cancellations and postponements but they are still optimistic for the 2022 events season.
“It is hard to say when we will drop alert levels. We just have to take each day as it comes. It is hard to predict but we are remaining positive,” said Stolwyk.
The next event on the calendar for 2021 is the Kihikihi Speedway season which was meant to kick off on Saturday 30 October and has now postponed to Saturday 13 November.
Kihikihi Speedway Club president, Russell Hayes said people are eager for the season to start.
“We kick the season off with a fireworks opening night which draws in huge crowds and we are really hoping for some certainty soon so we can continue with our plans,” Hayes said.
To find out all guidelines in place for running events at the different alert levels, head to https://covid19.govt.nz/activities/events-and-entertainment/. For more information about what events are on in Waipā, visit whatsonwaipa.co.nz.
