Rockin’ party heralds 2003
by Elaine Clark, Gisborne Herald
Gisborne’s Town Clock Party was a wonderful melting pot as about 10,000 of the city’s diverse population came together to welcome in 2003 on Tuesday night.
Good fun, great music and lots of hugs and kisses were the order of the hour as revellers rocked into the New Year with a spectacular line-up of local artists.
The Tuia Festival’s Town Clock Party, synonymous with good clean fun and family values, hit the mark again this year.
The warmth of Gisborne’s rich multicultural diversity was appreciated as the main street was packed. Families were a major part of the audience and the acts appealed to all ages.
Senior Sergeant Maui Aben, of Gisborne Police, said the Town Clock Party was a huge success. By 2am only two "lock-ups" had been made and these incidents were not within the cordoned off area between Grey Street and Bright Street.
"The concert was excellent," said Mr Aben.
"Crowd behaviour was exceptional, with only a few people given warnings. The liquor ban has been really effective.
"In general, people will empty a drink if asked to by police. If they refused to, then police can issue them with a $200 liquor infringement offence notice. A warning is usually enough to bring most people in line."
The Town Clock Party is now an institution and a safe place for families to celebrate the New Year.
Tuia Festival organisers of the Town Clock Party, Darryl Monteith and Kerry Donovan joked that the concert was complete chaos, but in the end things came together perfectly.
Mr Monteith’s band Starfish got the crowd pumping shortly before the countdown and then continued their repertoire of crowd-pleasing rock until about 1am.
Host Treva Rice wooed and charmed the audience with his wit and singing talent.
Special guests were Mayor Meng Foon, Super 12 player Rico Gear and Miss Gisborne Jacquie May Clark, who made her first public appearance.
Ms Donovan said the first act of the night, Howard went down really well with the crowd. Winners of the Count Down to the Clock contest, Howard performed remarkably as this was their biggest stage to date and the audience response was fantastic.
Wellington-based dance troupe Sirens, featuring former Gisborne girl Renee Peipi, thrilled the crowd with their spectacular variety act.
The crowd was also treated to the talents of Kit Higgins, Lesley Niania and Itchy Fingers, Colin Taare and Moana Keith.
Ms Donovan said the success of the concert was a credit to the local performers.
Organising the concert was a huge effort and the Eastland Energy Community Trust was the biggest sponsor.
Other sponsors included Tairawhiti Polytechnic, Classic Hits ZG FM, The Hair Shop and Rainbow Fast Foods, who supplied refreshments for organisers and entertainers.
The multi-talented leader, Ms Donovan continued organising and sorting out glitches with baby Jackson on her hip.
She said the crew of about 50 men, who worked through Monday night and Tuesday to erect the enormous stage deserved a huge thanks for their awesome effort.
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Extravaganza lights up city
by Lisa Mills, Gisborne Herald
THE first day of the New Year closed in spectacular style on Wednesday night as the Riversun River of Light show brought down the curtain on the Tuia 2003 Festival.
Crowds of people eager to see what this year’s pageant had to offer packed the banks of the Taruheru and Turanganui rivers, expecting a show to remember.
They were not disappointed.
The free festival attracted about 7000 people and the participants were testament to the wealth of talent in Tairawhiti.
Children of all ages paraded their colourful creations made during the festival’s Travelling Tuatara Children’s Workshop, which proved popular with the crowd.
The young artists paraded dragons, puppets and masks and brightly decorated flags and banners.
As dusk began to fall, the river came alive with "floating art" which featured a jazz band, visiting street performer Air Jair and several Gisborne rowing and waka ama clubs.
A highlight for the crowd was when Air Jair lost control of his unicycle and went crashing into the river.
However, he was able to pull himself back on to the floating barge and retrieve his cycle.
Surf lifesavers were on hand in their inflatable rescue boats just in case.
Wainui Waka Ama Club took first prize in the floating art parade, closely followed by the Mareikura Waka Ama Club.
A song written about the February stranding of the Jody F Millennium was also a crowd pleaser and was accompanied by hilariously funny antics by the water clowns in a "replica" Jody.
Jonathon Besser and Nigel Gavin showed the wealth of their musical talent with several original tunes before Gisborne diva Mere Boynton and the Turanga Ararau vocal ensemble wowed the crowd with their stunning voices.
The ethereal procession of lanterns paraded along the riverbank and the river before a feast of fire performers put on a great display with flaming pois and fire sticks.
Huge images of birds were set alight before a smoke snorting, fire eating dragon meandered along the river.
The grand finale was truly magical. The Walter Findlay Ltd-- sponsored fireworks display had people gasping as they saw an array of colours and patterns shoot into the night sky.
Former Gisborne man Chris Hilder showed the true art of pyrotechnics in the 12-minute display which, at times, had the crowds yelling for more. It was over all too soon and as the people began to move off many raved about the two-and-a-half-hour show.
"Absolutely fantastic," one woman said.
Organiser Keren Rickard said she was pleased with the final production although she admitted it was somewhat daunting putting on a show for so many people without a dress rehearsal.
"The number of people who have turned out for the event is a wonderful show of community support," she said