To welcome the start of spring, Botany Town Centre is delighted to host the very first Botany Light Festival, featuring 200 lanterns handmade by local schoolchildren.

Botany Town Centre will light up on Thursday 2 September at 6.30pm, with the support of the Botany Community Board and Uxbridge, which is helping children to design and make the lanterns that will be shown off at the festival.

The Botany Light Festival will be a night for the whole family to enjoy, with a community concert, featuring music, dance, and fire performers, conducted throughout the lantern parade. The core of the festival, the parade will see brightly-lit lanterns carried through the centre accompanied by music and dance to celebrate the vibrancy of the Botany community.

Botany Town Centre Senior Marketing Manager Desiree Clark says, “We are excited to be hosting the Botany Light Festival. The bright lanterns will look spectacular as they are carried through the centre. It is always a pleasure supporting the local community and helping to showcase the work of our people and children.”

Tutors from Uxbridge arts centre have been working with children aged eight to 11 from seven Botany-area schools to create lanterns for the special evening. Each handmade lantern takes three hours to construct and will be lit internally with a coloured light and displayed on a large bamboo pole for the parade.

Uxbridge Event Manager Ashley Grogan says, “The Botany Light Festival is going to be fantastic. It’s a lovely event in which the whole neighbourhood can come together and celebrate our community. Botany Town Centre which is an ideal spot for an event like this because it brings people together and is an enjoyable area with entertainment, food, and shopping.

“This is the first light festival we have held with Botany Town Centre and the Botany Community Board, and we would love for this to become an annual event for the community.”

Children attended two lantern workshops to learn how to make lanterns by weaving a basket and adding a special cling wrap around it to create a unique chrysalis effect. Students from Baverstock Oaks Primary, Willowbank School, Mission Heights Primary, Elim School, Botany Downs Primary, Pointview School and Star of the Sea will have their work showcased in the parade.

What: The Botany Light Festival
When: Thursday 2 September (If raining, the event will moved to Thursday 9 September)
Time: 6.30pm
Where: Botany Town Centre, corner Ti Rakau and Te Irirangi Drives, Botany Downs, East Auckland

ends

About Botany Town Centre
Situated approximately 19km southeast of Auckland, Botany Town Centre is one of New Zealand’s largest retail developments, with 176 specialty stores. Its retailers range from Dick Smith Electronics to Rebel Sports and a full complement of banks, fashion stores, and New Zealand’s most popular café and restaurant chains. The centre includes one of Auckland’s largest Farmers stores and a New World supermarket. The centre provides diverse entertainment choices from the Circle Lounge at Hoyts Cinema to the award-winning Cock and Bull pub. In addition to its retail offering, Botany Town Centre is a community hub for other services including the Botany Library, the Community Constable, and a variety of medical and health providers.

About Uxbridge
The Uxbridge Centre was founded at 35 Uxbridge Road, Howick in 1981, when the former Howick Borough Council purchased the Uxbridge Presbyterian Church and associated buildings. The Council facilitated the establishment of the Uxbridge Community Projects, an incorporated society, to operate the facilities for the community, providing arts and cultural activities. Uxbridge now attracts more than 50,000 visitors annually to its programmes and events. As Howick’s Creative Centre, its goals are to enrich the community through arts, cultural and lifestyle activities, be recognised as a leading arts and cultural facility, and achieve the highest standards of efficiency and effectiveness.

© Scoop Media