Flaxmere summer fun coming up

Here comes summer and with it the holiday season!

The season kicks off with the big Christmas Whānau Day on December 14 – when our Flaxmere Night Market morphs into a Christmas celebration, starting at 2pm in Flaxmere Park. It is going to be huge, with lots of stall holders entertainment, games and giveaways.

The night markets and Christmas Whānau Day are organised by your Flaxmere Planning Committee. Committee chair and event organiser Traci Tuimaseve says provided “the weather plays nice” it will be a wonderful night for Paharakeke. “Bring everyone; it is a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends and whānau, enjoy some of the amazing talent that we have here in Paharakeke, and enjoy some great kai.”

Just days after that, the Flaxmere Christmas tree is due to go up; scheduled for December 20.

Three more fun in Flaxmere Park days to put in your calendar are January 23 and February 13 (these two include a movie), starting at 5pm, and the last one for this summer on March 13, starting at 1pm, and including Relay4Life.

School holidays

Flaxmere Library

If it’s raining (or just too hot outside) there is plenty of fun to be had at the library. The Makerspace is open every day from December 13 to February 7 (except for the holiday closures), with heaps of activities from Lego to wordfinds, colouring in to Connetix.

There are three super fun special events on at the Flaxmere Library over the school holidays (remembering that children must be accompanied by an adult).

Holiday Ha-Ha-Hour on December 13, from 3.30pm to 4.30pm, described as “festive cheer meets belly laughs – hilarious holiday tales and jolly jokes”, is ideal for the whole family.

On January 10, from 11am to noon, the library is turning into a Spy School kids of all ages, the ultimate training ground for young secret agents with challenges to test mind and body.

And on January 24 from 1pm to 2pm, there’s Tween Paint and Swap, ideal for 10- to 12-year-olds, billed as “painting with a twist”. Painters start a work, then swap canvasses while carrying on the theme.

And of course, there are all of those thousands of books, for all age groups, just waiting to be read!

For more info on Hastings Libraries holiday programme, visit: www.hastingslibraries.co.nz

Flaxmere Pool

You can play at Flaxmere Pool almost every day (Mondays to Fridays 6am to 7pm and Saturdays 9am to 3pm), with inflatables booked in for two sessions every day from 10m to noon and 2pm to 4pm) for three weeks (from Dec 23 to Jan 11). The pools will be closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Yeats and January 2, and will open later, at 9am, over the two weeks of Christmas and New Year period.

Council’s pool team is moving some furniture between facilities for the summer, with Flaxmere scoring picnic tables, sun umbrellas and basketball hoops for the outdoor area, to make that area more appealing.

Kids aged under eight must be actively supervised by a caregiver aged 16 or older at all times; if the youngster is in the pool, the caregiver has to be in the water too.

Flaxmere Park

Flaxmere’s parks are a green haven in summer. There is plenty to do and it is all free. On hot days, make the most of Flaxmere Park’s premier playground with its cool splash pad and community barbecue, right next to the awesome award-winning skatepark, where park staff are on deck from 8.30am to 7pm, and just steps away from the top-of-the-line basketball court. There is also a basketball park on Ron Giorgi Park III and the softball diamond on Ron Giorgi II, and, for the littlies, there are mini playgrounds in neighbourhood parks across Paharakeke.

Flaxmere Community Centre

Just rock up to the community centre over the holidays (Monday to Friday 6am to 7pm and Saturdays 8.30am to 1.30pm) and pick a ball, any ball. That might be dodge ball, indoor basketball, or the new ‘virtual ball’ digital wall game. The centre is closed for the Christmas break from December 21 to January 5.