Eketāhuna 150th Celebrations Thank you

After the wonderful 150th celebrations last weekend there is a lot to be thankful for, and I will try to make sure I capture every person, organisation or group that helped. That’s going to mean a lot of thank you’s though, so bear with me.

Last weekend the sun shone, people visited and we all enjoyed the 150th Celebrations marking the first European Settlers to break ground in Eketāhuna. It was great to see so many visitors and Eke residents enjoying the great weather, friendly atmosphere and local attractions.

So many people helped in the run up to the weekend.

Thank you to Brian for helping with painting the Herbert Building, the 150th Committee for being so willing to muck in and make things happen and the Eketāhuna Our Town Committee for supporting the weekend. Thank you to Max, John and Dicky for the awesome gazebo, which will last long after the weekend is finished and thank you to Linda for decorating it so beautifully.

Thank you to the children and staff at Eketāhuna School for working with us to include the weekend into their curriculum, through visits and an action-packed afternoon at the school.

Thank you to Lian and for the awesome graphics on the maps of the town and thank you to Selena who went above and beyond over the weekend to make the council buildings and public toilets look clean and tidy. Thank you also to Peggy for tidying the gardens around the 3D art.

Thank you as well to those who offered services or time to make the weekend a success and thank you to the vintage car and truck owners who came to visit even if we couldn’t have a parade.

The museum has told us that they had many new visitors, impressed with all the hard work they have put into the space, Glynne’s work on the QR codes for the historical buildings around town was well received, while the slide show and oral history in the War Memorial Hall proved very popular, with many recognising old friends. We even had the brother of the narrator come. It took him a while to recognise his sister’s voice.

Thank you to Mayor Tracey Collis for finding the time capsule and bringing it to the Meet and Greet on Friday, it was so marvellous to see the memories and mementoes people added 33 years ago. Thank you to Councillors Scott and Michael for supporting the weekend, it was lovely to see you around town.

The Eketāhuna Club did an awesome job on both nights, with brilliant catering from Anderson Street Kitchen at the Friday Meet and Greet, thank you to Warren and Everlyn for launching the weekend with the Mayor and Margaret Parsons, and thank you to Roseanne for the cake. The delicious Scandi meal from the Club ladies on Saturday was amazing, the Preloved Ball Committee did a great job, as the ball was a big success. And the karaoke certainly sounded fun from the Eketāhuna Inn.

Everyone was impressed with the lawn mower racing and we are grateful to Paula and Paul from the pub for letting them use the field. 

Thank you to the golf club for not only putting on a round of golf but for hosting the old folks of Eketāhuna in the morning, We heard many good comments.

The children enjoyed the activities on the Community Centre lawn, curtesy of the Tākaro Tararua Community Play Trailer in association with Sports Manawatu and thank you to Emma for keeping an eye on our Tamariki on the sports equipment. Thank you also to Renee for bringing her outdoor games for them to enjoy. 

We have to give a special thank you to Mike Harding who serenaded us for free during the day and Beau Elton for taking photos, hopefully we will be able to make a calendar to remember the weekend by. 

Thank you to the Fire Brigade for their demo, Mark Watson for manning his 3D art at the kiwi, the 150th committee for working so hard to put on a great weekend and the shops and individuals who made an effort to dress their spaces and add a little flair to the town. 

Thank you to the Eketāhuna Hockey team for manning the sausage sizzle, a staple at any celebration.

Well done to all the rugby players for a great game and the rugby club rooms for hosting.

Thank you to all the volunteers who manned the War Memorial Hall, St Cuthberts Church and the Museum, we couldn’t have done so well without you.

Thank you to the Sunday “Super” Market and the church services at both the Anglican and Catholic churches. It was a great way to finish the weekend off gently.

There really are too many people to thank individually, if I’ve forgotten to thank you personally, I apologise. Know that we all loved the weekend and everything that people did to make it a special event.

#Eketahuna150