Pokeno brings bacon for first Christmas parade
It was once death by highway for this tiny Waikato town, but Pokeno has made a comeback and is finally getting its own Christmas parade.
Pokeno, a town of 150 people in the 90s to around 2000 people today, is booming.
That number is set to increase to at least 7000 within the decade.
The town has had its struggles over the years. Its main road was bypassed in the early 1990s.
The new national highway system bypassed much of Great South Rd, cutting the economic lifeline of communities dependent on the business driven by traffic along the highway.
But thanks to the Auckland housing market spike, Pokeno’s population is set to triple in coming decades.
Smack-bang in the middle of Auckland and Hamilton, Pokeno’s abundant rural land provided the ideal place for new homes to be built.
The growing town, known for its bacon and giant ice creams, will celebrate its festive debut on Friday night, with 40 floats taking to the streets.
Pokeno Bacon, one of Pokeno’s most well-known businesses, was gearing up for Friday’s parade this week and prepping a 2.3 metre long replica ham – hand-crafted from pipe, chicken wire, foam, rubber and extra large staples. It features intricate paint work and dried flower heads as cloves.
Owner of Pokeno Bacon, Helen Clotworthy, said a Pukekohe couple had created the ham for their own insurance company float – but had no where to store it.
‘‘So it has gone to a good home,’’ Clotworthy said.
‘‘We just need to figure out how we are going to get it down to the parade now.’’
The parade begins at 6.30pm. Float organisers are asked to arrive before 6pm. The parade will begin on Selby St before making its way to Pokeno School – where a church choir and a free sausage awaits to serenade the crowd.