Te Hirihiri o te Rā |Paihia Waterfront Pōhutukawa Light-Up

What began as a simple idea turned into something truly special on the Paihia waterfront on Saturday, 20th December. With 64 participants coming together to light up 16 pōhutukawa trees, whānau, friends, community groups, neighbours, and workmates shared a single intention: to create warmth, connection, and a sense of care in our community. There was plenty of untangling, laughter, and conversation, and that quiet kind of magic that happens when people slow down and do something together simply because it feels right.

A heartfelt thank you to Bunnings Warehouse New Zealand and PKF Bay of Islands for their generous support of this kaupapa, and a huge sparkly thank you to Shell Wilson (Focus Paihia Trustee - Youth Representative) for bringing the vision to life and, once again, creating a moment that draws our community together.

Te Hirihiri o te Rā is about warmth, connection, and choosing to be a light for one another. Paihia shines because its people do. Ngā mihi nui to everyone who took part. See our Facebook page for more photos PLUS we'll need a few volunteers to help take the lights down on the 19th Jan (TBC) so that we can potentially reuse them for Matariki, next Christmas etc. Thanks in advance. 

And here’s the real takeaway: seize the day. New year, fresh ideas! If you’ve got a great idea that could benefit our community, we’d love to hear from you. Please email info@focuspaihia.org.nz.

Focus Paihia exists to support volunteer-driven projects, and what really makes things happen is having a project driver, someone willing to put their hand up and get the ball rolling, just like our very own Shell. FP can then help arrange working bees, assist with approvals, source materials, and use our social media channels to rally supplies and troops. It’s far less daunting than it sounds, incredibly rewarding, and people genuinely rally around good ideas.