21 December 2017 / ISSUE 117
5 Baring Square West, Ashburton | PO Box 94, Ashburton, New Zealand 7740 | Telephone (03) 307 7700 | Facsimile (03) 308 1836
DISTRICT DIARY
Roading Worx
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AYC wraps up
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Wise up on water
Celebrating the Christmas spirit in Ashburton night. People arrived with picnics and blankets and were able to enjoy a fantastic, low key Christmas event with their families,” Council Community Relations Manager Vincie Billante says.
More than a thousand people descended on Baring Square East on 1 December for Ashburton’s first ever ‘Light Up the Night’ Christmas event. Featuring carols, food trucks, an outdoor screening of the movie Arthur Christmas and the lighting of Ashburton’s brand new Christmas tree, the evening was a huge success. “Light Up the Night was a lovely event for families to start the festivities in Ashburton. We were thrilled with the turnout and the positive vibe on the
The night began with a performance from the Silver Band, followed by the Arthur Christmas movie. The Methven Women’s Choir then had everyone involved with some Christmas carols and Santa even made an appearance for a lolly scramble. Mayor Donna Favel then switched on Ashburton’s new six metre tall Christmas tree at 9.00pm. “The tree has the capacity to be added to over the years to make it bigger, and is intended to last 10 years. We’ve also decorated the clock tower with wreaths and garlands, and changed its lights to Christmas colours,” Ms Billante explains. The tree sits on a large box decorated with bright red Christmas wrapping, and aside from looking like an extravagant gift under the tree, the box has been engineered to hold all of the Christmas decorations year round.
“Light Up the Night would not have been possible without the input of so many people and organisations. We’d like to sincerely thank EA Networks, particularly Richard Sampson (Spike), Masterguard, Talbot Security, Peter Mac and Hoops from Hokoniu FM, Spectrum Lighting and Sound, Ashburton Trust Event Centre, Spraymarks, Priority Communications, the Silver Band, Methven Women’s Choir, Ashburton Crane Hire, the food truck vendors, and the magical Christmas elf who did all the design and logistics to get the tree and box sorted (you know who you are). Of course, thank you to everyone who came along and made the night such a wonderful success.” Scope of work is now underway for year round lighting along the Ashburton green on East Street along the fountain side. This is in partnership with EA Networks. A FlagTrax system has been bought for flags to go up the street light poles along East and West Steet and these are anticipated to be up in January. They are the same system people might see on Stratford Street in Timaru.
Message from the Mayor The holiday season is an incredibly busy time for many, while for others it is also the chance to relax and take some time to reflect. For Council, there are a number of things to look back on. 2017 has seen the rollout of the wheelie bins, land purchased for the Library and Administration Building, approval of an Importance Level 4 Building for Civil Defence headquarters, and increased attendance at both EA Networks Centre and Museum. EANC has continued to attract regional sports events and the ashburtondc.govt.nz
air conditioning is now operational in the pool areas. In response to community concerns in 2016, Council has delivered new festive lighting, which was on show at the wonderful ‘Light Up the Night’ event earlier this month. We received a suggestion last week from Peter McQuarters and NZME to relocate their radio station to the building that housed the i-Site. Council is interested to flesh this out a little more, as there are some details to explore.
This year, we’ve seen several new and continuing collaborations: The Hank & Kate Murney Exhibition Space at the Museum, Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EA Networks), Eastfield JV, and the collaboration with the SPCA to co-locate at the ADC pound on Range Street. If you’re on the roads these holidays, please be careful. It is sad to read that the national road toll is the highest it has been for 10 years. As I write this, 80 more people have lost their lives on
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What’s on The Great Santa Hunt Ashburton Museum 21 Dec 2017 - 31 Jan 2018 A Christmas Journey - Christmas Eve Service The Sinclair Centre 11pm, Sunday 24 Dec - 12.15am Monday 25 Dec And Christmas Letters - Christmas Day Service The Sinclair Centre 9.30am - 10.30am, Monday 25 Dec Methven Hot Rods Town Centre Methven - around the Blue Pub 10am - 3pm, Saturday 30 Dec Time Travellers - Mid Canterbury Summer Singing School Ashburton Trust Event Centre Friday 12 Jan - Sat 13 Jan, 2018 Multi Cultural Bite & Waitangi on East East Street, Ashburton Tuesday 6 Feb, 2018
midcanterburynz.com/ newzealand/events/
the roads in 2017 compared with 2016. I wish you all a happy and safe holiday season and hope you get to spend time with your loved ones and make some wonderful memories. See you next year for an even bigger and bolder 2018!
Mayor Donna Favel ISSUE 117 | 21 December 2017
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