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Waimea Weekly - 14 December 2022

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Waimea Weekly

PH 544 4400

Locally Owned and Operated

24 Champion Road, Richmond wrfs.co.nz

Wednesday 14 December 2022

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Golfing for MATES

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Candlelight carols are back

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Swim meet splash

Santa takes to streets JO KENT The sun shone for Sunday’s Santa Parade with The Dance Club Zumba Kids taking first place in the Judge’s Choice for Community category with their Christmas in the Islands-themed float, scooping them a $500 Pak ‘n’ Save voucher. Mum-of-two Laura Paynter was behind the winning float and says she couldn’t have done it without the help of her devoted husband Michael, friend and co-worker Asami White and the 90 plus volunteers involved in the entry. “My creative heart is so full with 1st place, there’s so much love, determination and time... lots of time involved.” With a tiki bar, waka, sand snowman, ukulele-playing kids in hammocks, real foliage, coconut trees and lots of shells, birds and dancers, it was the most intricately-decorated entry in the entire parade. Laura first participated in the Santa Parade in 2018 for Nelson Catchball as a walking group. The

Laura Paynter says it took over 15 hours to decorate the winning Island-themed float. Photo: Supplied. next year, she entered a float for them and won. “Then in 2020, I made a winning float for Zumba Richmond as I really wanted to up the level and have choreographed dancers, and here we are in 2022 representing my shared business The Dance Club (Zumba Kids) which also featured Zumba Richmond danc-

ers.” She says all three winning floats have been because of one “amazing, patient and very talented” float teammate, her husband Michael. “I create the vision and then put him to work. He makes most of the main props and I put all the details and decorations on. I’m

lucky he believes in ‘happy wife, happy life’. He’s also the one in the Daffy Duck mascot causing mischief and entertaining the crowds.” The truck itself doesn’t arrive to be decorated until Saturday morning, the day before the parade. “After that it’s constant go, go, go.

My visions must be getting more complicated because every year decorating the float takes longer. This year’s took us 15.5 hours. “The tiki bar was so heavy we had to get five men to carry it through our garden, over the fence and up on to the truck!”

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