Martinborough community rallied for Santa

Martinborough’s Christmas Parade attracted many hundreds of people, with some picnics on the grass in The Square, as well as thousands of flying toffees along the route of the floats _ which included trucks, tractors, mobility-driving seniors, marching Martinborough pipers and the essential Big Red Suit Guy.
Martinborough Community Board member Angela Brown said the last-minute rush of registration of floats was “fantastic. It was a microcosm of everything that’s Martinborough.”
“It was free … a range of people took part, from playcentre kids to seniors on their mobility scooters.”
The parade helped spark Christmas buzz through the community.

By Angela Brown

A belated and sincere “thank you” to everyone involved with the 2023 Martinborough Community Santa Parade – there was lots of work behind the scenes to make this happen. The support of the community was overwhelming. 

Mary Smith and Kay Mills kicked the planning off early last year and their experience was invaluable in ensuring the parade embraced elements of the past. 

The Mens Shed constructed a sleigh for Santa, the talented MADCAPS entertained with carols, the Toy Library set up a grotto and photo opportunity supported by the Martinborough Community Market. Rotary offered financial support and, together with Lions, acted as marshalls on the day. Members of the Community Board and all your local councillors were there offering support with traffic management or entertaining the crowds. 

Biggest thank you goes to our amazing Santa who has taken time away from his Christmas delivery preparations for the past 30 years! We hope he enjoyed riding in his new sleigh. 

If anyone would like to get involved with organising the 2024 parade, please get in touch.

The Community Board is currently looking at priorities for the year ahead – Pain Farm Estate

management and associated costs have been at the top of the list for the past 12 months and remain at the forefront of our focus this year. We are so very grateful to the late George Pain for this amazing bequest – applications are currently being called for funding. To find out more about the criteria check out the council website.

It is sad to hear that local businesses have recently been victims of break-ins – Martinborough Community Patrol is dedicated to helping build safer communities and reduce crime through the active presence of trained patrollers. If you can regularly spare a few hours for the benefit of your community or would like to find out more, please contact martinborough@cpnz.org.nz 

Community Emergency Hub news: Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO) will be running a Navigating Stress in Disaster & Recovery workshop on Wednesday 13  March at the Waihinga Centre. Register via Eventfinda or contact angela.brown@swdc.govt.nz

Meet the Community Board: Saturday 10 February, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the Waihinga Centre, to speak to a Board member to discuss your issues.