It’s that time of year again when, for all things, Jolly, Joyful and generally Christmassy - Papakura is your one stop Christmas stop! Having always had always had a strong community spirit, a varied retail base with 24 new shops opened this year alone, and with numerous eatery options, your local town centre has pulled out all the stops to make this festive season the best ever!
If you look around town, you will see the wonderful flags and bows that have gone up during November, along with the ‘Stars in the centre court Christmas Tree’ Thanks to the local board for funding for this one. Add in the decorations on the corners of all the streets, Merry Christmas Stencils on business windows and Papakura is looking magnificent and a really festive feel is emanating from our great little town.
And this year, 28 local Schools and Kindies have dressed wooden Christmas Trees in that festive feel and they are lining the streets of Papakura outside the businesses with the school name on them.
In recent years, Papakura has flourished from being a small town to a successful business hub, with a variety of great food, entertainment and shopping options for locals. This is, partly in thanks to the hard work behind the scenes of Papakura’s Business Association who work tirelessly with a number of stakeholders to put Papakura on the map.
This year has seen more planters and bicycle decorations, more chorus boxes have been painted beautifully around the area, sustainable planters with herb and vegetable seedling planted for the community to share in and to round out the year, and a fabulous Live Papakura Sign along with planters on the top of the Fountain Area which is backlit at night, and just looks wonderful with the fairy lights around street corners and on shop frontages – it’s a sparkling affair at night-time in town!
And check out the 18 murals that have now been painted around the town. Born from walls that were hot spots for tagging and graffiti, work was done with Landlords, local Artists and the Business Association to get these walls, painted and looking fantastic around town. Check out the locations of these murals – which can be done as a walking trail around the town and two of them you can have your photo taken and upload onto Instagram ! Check it out at https://papakura.co.nz/art-trail-map-papakura/
And our Faces of Papakura are up and around town, showcasing some of our wonderful business owners – there fabulous faces just so you know who owns the businesses you shop in. Check them all out at https://papakura.co.nz/faces-of-papakura/
For the first time – Papakura is holding a Late Night Festive Fun night for you all on Thursday 10 December from 5 – 8 pm. Shops will be open for you to do your Christmas Shopping early, entertainment will be in town near Farmers at the stage area, restaurants and eateries will be open for you to get dinner while you are in town, and lots of fun for the kids with clowns and face painting and so much more. So diary the date and come into town for a great night and grab yourself a Christmas bargain.
Which then leads us into Christmas …
Don’t forget to diarise the arrival of the Big Man. ‘Santa’ will arrive in Papakura December 6th with the not to be missed Rotary Papakura Christmas parade, a great fun day out for all, with live entertainment, activities with the parade starting at 3 pm from Central Park and working its way through the town. “Last year there was over 25 floats and 3000+ people, it is a very important date in our town calendar” says Tracy.
After the Christmas parade, there will be an after party in Central Park, with live music, activities for the kids, hot food, sausage sizzle, ice cream etc. This is a new initiative funded by the Papakura Local Board and it’s designed for families to just relax and enjoy some good music and bands. A great afternoon for the kids too after the Santa parade with Mr Whippy, Food Trucks at the Park, Face painting and more. Come back to Central Park after the Parade and enjoy these festivities from 4pm through until 6 pm.
Once Santa has arrived, and attended to duties in other parts of town, he will be homed in the Grotto from the 16th of December through to the 23rd. The grotto is based in the old Travel Select store at 188 Great South road and you can have your free photo taken with him, any day (excluding Sunday) from 11am through to 3pm.
With all this entertainment whilst you shop, it makes sense to take advantage of the gift-wrapping station that Santa provides. Gift Wrapping is available for all your purchases in town for a gold coin donation that this year will go towards supporting the great team at the Papakura Community Crimewatch Patrol who do a wonderful job around town.
It’s all part of what makes Papakura the great place it is, so whether you are hunting for a special Christmas gift for a special someone, just doing your regular family gift shopping or grabbing a bite to eat, check out all the happenings in Papakura this Christmas season!
Check out www.papakura.co.nz for more information.
Rotary Christmas Parade
Sunday 6th Dec, 3 pm
Don't miss the arrival of SANTA! Entertainment will be out and about before the start of the parade at 3 pm, so make a day of it.
Chilling in the Park
Sunday 6th Dec, 4 pm–6 pm
After the Christmas parade, from 4 pm 'til 6 pm, there will be an after-party in Central Park, come relax and enjoy some good music and bands.
Late Late Night Festive Fun
Thursday 10th Dec, 5pm–8 pm
Come into town, get your Christmas shopping and enjoy! Papakura is staying open late for you to do your Christmas shopping.