Community

Garden Place on Waitangi Day

So I started 2010 with an attempt to find free entertainment. I love free!! I'm not too cool to take taste testers from the lovely ladies in their stalls at the supermarkets. I love hand me downs. I use the gimmicky free samples you get sent/given randomly. I don't usually buy their products. Let's face it if they can afford to give them away in promotions then they are obviously charging too much. So I'm happy to receive free things.

One thing I miss about Auckland is that in a city that size there was always something happening somewhere. Be it the Chinese lantern festival, pacifika festival, symphony under the stars etc etc.. Now I know that Auckland has the people and the economy to pull that kind of stuff off but I figured there must be more that Hamilton is offering that I just haven't seen yet..

And it turns out there is!!


I started my journey at the free places - the GORGEOUS Hamilton gardens, the Arts Post, Museum, you know the places. It's when you're there you see the advertisements for all the things coming up. No kidding there is more than you could fit it time for. Here is a list of just SOME of the things that we have made it to that has been happening in Hamilton in 2010. I'm struggling to remember them all:

Waitangi Day in garden place with entertainment all day
Children's Day happening in 13! places around the city
Earth Hour festivities
Massive School Gala Day at the Base
Movies in Garden Place
Plunket Funky Monkey Roadshow
Tamahere Markets
Balloons Over Waikato
Agora Goes Live
Delhi Streets Art Exhibition and Auction


Not bad considering there has only been about 14 weekends this year. The cool thing about going to all of these things is you get to have a feel of community spirit. When you've stood in line forever for something and you realise your 50cents short and they let you off. Or when your kid is throwing a tantrum and you didn't realise he lost a shoe 20meters ago and someone comes and returns it. Or when you find a group of people who are into the same weird thing as you and you're encouraged by what they're doing. Or you get to cheer on the kid who's coming last in the race even though you've never met him before but you admire his persistence.

I don't know about you but I was made for community. I was made to need people and be needed by people. To give and to receive. My life feels so much fuller when I feel so connected to the people around me. I guess in a way I have found an appreciation of the Hamilton community. It's a different scale obviously and probably not as good as 'the good old days' but still so valuable.

Poppy at the school fair

Jerk Freaks performing at Agora Goes Live

Noah mesmerised by the Funky Monkeys