New arts centre a milestone
A huge shout out to the many people who have brought Te Raukura ki Ka¯ piti to reality.
The $12 million community performing arts centre’s grand opening at Ka¯ piti College on Saturday is a significant milestone and a moment to be very proud of.
Getting to this stage has involved a lot of hard work by an army of volunteers who have contributed in so many ways including the long fundraising journey.
Well done to you all. A very special centre has been created for now and generations to come.
Take a tour through the centre on Saturday during the festival-like open day between 9am and 3pm and you’ll see how good this centre will be for the community. Mini tours are being conducted throughout that timeframe. Guides will show you the impressive main theatre, black box theatre, inviting foyer, dance room, musical rooms and lots more. You will be impressed.
There’s a wide range of performances planned over the coming weeks, including New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Royal New Zealand Ballet which will further spread the word about the centre.
The centre is a real boost for the performing arts sector and moreover will whet young people’s appetite to get involved.
Visionary
Good luck to the dedicated team behind the Whale Song project. The project involves fundraising to create a sculptured pod of seven life size whales in the heart of Paraparaumu. The sculpture will look mightily impressive and create another drawcard to the district.
Whaling was a big industry in Ka¯ piti many years ago and involved the slaughter of countless number of these magnificent creatures.
Thankfully those days are over and there is now a strong sense about the need for marine conservation.
Getting up close to this sculptured pod of bronze coated whales will further strengthen the conservation focus about protecting these majestic creatures in our oceans.
Hopefully the trust set up to deliver this project will get the necessary donations as soon as possible to enable construction to begin.
A lot of groundwork has been done behind the scenes already so a strong footing has been established.
Like any project of this magnitude there will always be hurdles but there’s a real sense of determination about this project to see it through to reality.
Kia kaha.