Mahurangi magazine

Any surplus serendipitous: Should the not-for-profit Mahu West Summer Fest produce a surplus—a far-from forgone conclusion at this stage—it will go, serendipitously, to the new Mahurangi Harbour community marquee. image Mahu West Summer Fest

Sweet Summer Fest marquee serendipity

author Cimino
published as a work in progress 20240124–

Serendipitously, the Mahurangi Harbour community’s own marquee, commissioned for Saturday’s regatta, has arrived in the nickpun, of course, intended: ‘Nick’ Carnachan being promotor of the Mahu West Summer Fest! of time to also go up for a second not-for-profit event: The first Mahu West Summer Fest, on 17 February.

A community marquee was part of Mahurangi Action’s original plan for a Mahurangi West Hall marquee site. The Mahurangi West marquee site had been directly inspired by—until 2005—Scotts Landing’s sudden discovery as a wedding venue. Pushback by some locals, however, saw the regional council put the kibosh such marquee weddings. Given that private-light-vehicle congestion was the root of most local discontent, the more imaginative council response would have been to simply stipulate that guests to the likes of marquee weddings at Scotts Landing arrive by bus or by water. Not everybody’s wedding can, nor should be, held at Scotts Landing. Verily, there are plenty of potential takers who would see the by-bus-or-by-boat condition as an immense, additional attraction, to a Scotts Landing wedding or other friends-and-family oriented gathering.

As recent Mahurangi West residents take totally for granted, Scotts Landing’s loss was Mahurangi West’s gain. The marquee site became an integral part of the major, community-led rehabilitation of the seriously dilapidated former Mahurangi Heads West School. Rodney District Council was so enthused by the spectacle of a community resolutely doing it for themselves, that it adopted marquee site concept as its own, took over, and paid for, the project.

Saved By Mahurangi Harbour Community Marquee: Set to be cancelled when initial support for the event was indifferent, and ticket sales were slow, the offer of the first free use of the Mahurangi Harbour community marquee, following hard on the heels of the 2024 Mahurangi Regatta, breathed life into an initiative that always deserved to become an annual Mahurangi West event, from day one. image Mike Neil

The community-owned marquee  concept, however—whereby the marquee would seriously augment marquee-site income and  provide the Mahurangi Harbour with a free marquee for community events, particularly the Mahurangi Regatta—was left out in the cold…

…until the 2024 Mahurangi Regatta and the Mahu West Summer Fest!

With his vision and passion for a Mahu West Summer Fest concept, Nick Carnachan immediately embraced the opportunity to be the first community event after the summer’s regatta to deploy the new community-owned marquee. Nick has also pledged that any proceeds from the Mahu West Summer Fest will go towards the repayment of the several locals who have underwritten marquee’s purchase.

Sweet Mahurangi serendipity.

Sweet, sweet footnote Not only did the Mahurangi Harbour community marquee save the Mahu West Summer Fest from imminent cancellation, ticket sales subsequently took off—as they are want to do, at the last, excruciating moment—allowing the organiser to donate the even $1000 surplus-over-costs to the marquee fund.

Disclosure The author of this brief article is the secretary of both Mahurangi Action Incorporated and the Mahurangi Coastal Path Trust. This Mahu West Summer Fest notice, however, is published by the editorially independent, independently funded Mahurangi Magazine.