Carnival chaos is family friendly
The annual Opunake Beach Carnival, which will have the coastal Taranaki town buzzing in the first week of January, will have more than the usual beach focus in 2018.
The carnival, which is organised by both Opunake Lions and Opunake Lakeside Lions clubs, takes place along the beach, of course, but there’s an extra emphasis this year, says organising committee member Eric Ardern. Funds raised by the carnival this year will go to the Opunake Surf Lifesaving Club.
‘‘We always spend our money on things at the beach,’’ Eric explains. ‘‘The surf club has a big building project coming up, so we are trying to get them as much funds as we can. Everybody benefits from that; they are a very active club and their building needs an upgrade.’’
The surf club was established in 1923 and has been patrolling Opunake Beach ever since. Members are all volunteers and also provide help for the rescue squad on sea and foreshore search-and-rescue activities.
With that extra focus, there will be more activities on this year’s carnival programme located in the area around the surf club.
The programme actually begins tomorrow, Wednesday, January 3, with the Collins Sports Centre Take-a-Kid Fishing event. Registration is at the store from the day before, Eric advises, and the weigh-in will be at the beach stage between 6pm and 6.30pm. Participants can fish anywhere, he adds, and good spot prizes will keep everyone interested.
Last year, All Black Scott Barrett was a celebrity guest at the weigh-in. Eric understands a Barrett will be on hand again this year – he’s just not sure which brother will turn up. Enjoy the surprise, he says.
Next on the programme is the Lakeside Lions Pool Party on Friday night at the Opunake High School swimming pool. Despite the venue, this event is aimed at primary school children, Eric explains, and will feature party games in the pool with a sausage and drink to keep them going.
Older children haven’t been forgotten.
‘‘There’s a disco for teenagers on the beach stage after the pool party.’’
Carnival day itself is Saturday,
from 10am through till 2pm.
‘‘It’s good timing,’’ says Eric. ‘‘Oakura is on the first of January. We are a week later, so everybody will have got over Christmas and New Year and will be ready to relax at the beach.
He is expecting 2000 to 3000 people if the weather is fine.
‘‘The place is pretty packed if we get a nice warm day. The beach camp is pretty much booked out and new management is represented on the carnival committee so there’s good co-ordination.’’
The tried-and-tested carnival format is similar to previous years, he says. Last year, it ran like clockwork, so let’s hope we pull that off again.’’
The mini Jeeps that were popular last year will not be at the beach for this year’s carnival.
‘‘We will have the sumo suits in that area.’’
Those inflatable costumes will have participants bulked up like massive Japanese wrestlers.
‘‘They will be trying to knock
one another over . . . it’s quite entertaining.’’
The major attraction for many younger carnival fans is the Campbell Contracting-sponsored Big Dig, with three bikes to be won in three age groups.
Eric admits there’s potential for a bit of chaos with kids getting excited when they find a prize stick for a bike in the Big Dig and run away with the stick. ‘‘Then we have to find them. There’s sand flying everywhere and sometimes that completely buries the top-prize stick and we have to put another in the sand and try again. The bikes have to be won . . . they will have owners at the end of the day.’’
Other traditional entertainment on the programme includes the various ‘‘beauty’’ contests. The Opunake event will again be looking for winners in the Baby Tots, Mr Muscle, Miss Teen, and Miss Opunake Beach categories.
Raffles will also be run regularly during the carnival, mostly on the hour, and there’s a mix of entertainment throughout the day – from the merry-goround and other rides to bouncy castles and a shooting gallery.
Craft stalls add extra colour to the day with a variety of handformed products, from jewellery to woodcrafts.
‘‘There are 22 sites booked around the perimeter of the grassed area – including 10 food stalls, with a good cross-section of tastes, so there should be something for everyone.’’
While the programme officially finishes at 2pm, there will be light entertainment through until later in the afternoon.
‘‘Many farmers will be on oncea-day milking by then, so they won’t have to rush home to milk
. . . they can stay a little longer.’’