From beer champions, to Blossom Parade, to Ecoreef protection, to night bike light-up, to Grey Power grilling candidates, to latest from Ngā Toi Creative Hawke’s Bay, here are some notable news items you might have missed.
Beer champs!
Hastings-based Brave Brewing Co recently swept the 2025 NZ Beer Awards – winning 17 medals for all 17 of the beers they entered, and going to home with special awards.
The competition, hosted by the Brewers Guild of New Zealand, assessed 625 beers from 70 breweries.
Brave Brewing Co took out five major trophies, including Champion New Zealand Brewing Company and Champion New Zealand Small Brewery. The brewery also swept three beer category trophies: International Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, and Speciality & Experimental, the first time a brewery has done that for 18 years.
Bottoms up!
Hastings Blossom Parade
Not til 20 September, but you need to get your entry forms in.
The theme for the 2025 Blossom Parade is: ’75 Years of Blossom:
Celebrating Hastings’ Past, Present, and Future’. This theme can be interpreted in many different ways. For example:
- Any era in the past 75 years?
- Spring is in the air?
- Paying tribute to your culture or community within the Heretaunga Hastings District
- Is there a special landmark, area or building in Heretaunga Hastings that you could represent through your float?
20,000+ people expected!
More info here: [email protected]
Te Awanga Ecoreef completed
After five weeks in construction the new EcoReef structure, placed along a 210-metre stretch of the Te Awanga beach directly in front of the lagoon, will help protect Hastings District Council’s stormwater infrastructure from erosion and wave damage.
The $800,000 project comprises a modular structure designed using biomimicry – each block is based on the hexagonal honeycomb shape, one of nature’s strongest and most efficient forms. Comprising1385 individual interlocking blocks, the structure acts like a single skeleton, holding the natural sand and gravel beach materials within the blocks. Most of the time the five-layer structure is substantially buried and unobtrusive, except during storm events when the lower layers can become exposed.
Local Hastings-based firm Lattey Group has manufactured the blocks at its Irongate industrial facility using locally sourced materials, and Lattey’s civil construction division undertook the installation of the EcoReef units.
“During Cyclone Gabrielle, this section of the coast got within about three metres of breaking into the Te Awanga lagoon, which is an important stormwater basin. This really highlighted howimportant it was to have a resilient solution in place,” sais Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst.
Local resident Roy Boonen, who was part of a group of residents who initially pitched the idea of EcoReef to Council, commented: “Everyone is delighted that action has been taken and that we have such a cool, unique structure that works with nature to provide the protection that’s needed.”
Illuminati night ride – light up!
A spectacular night bike ride will light up the Hastings city centre on Saturday August 23.
Riders will gather at Brave Brewing from 5pm and at 6pm set off on an easy 30 minute circuit around the city centre. The ride, supported by Bike Hawke’s Bay, businesses and the Hastings District Council, is all about promoting safe cycling, using good lighting when riding at night and having fun. Last year saw 80 riders.
Organiser Neill Gordon of Bike Hawke’s Bay says entry is free and there are cash prizes: $200 for the best decorated bike and two $50 prizes for best decorated rider.
My Ride Hastings and Proviz are donating two $160 night riding vests, Good Fun Bike Hire of Havelock North are providing two vouchers for full-day e-bike hire, iWay Hastings is donating bike lights, reflective straps and spoke reflectors and Evo Cycles in Napier is also providing spot prizes.
Participants need to register the names of those taking part by emailing [email protected] to be eligible for the fabulous spot prizes.
Grey Power Napier candidates’ meetings
Grey Power Napier will be holding two separate local body elections candidates’ meetings: the first on Tuesday 19 August, for Napier’s Mayoral and all HBRC candidates for Napier voters; the second on Tuesday, 16 September, for all other candidates for Napier City Council. These meetings are being held at St Columba’s church, 176 Gloucester Street, Taradale, starting at 1:30 pm on these dates and are open to the public.
The forums will be chaired by retiring Napier councillors Maxine Boag and Annette Brosnan.
Arts update
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