A Waipā District Council organised event to congratulate the district’s Olympians and Paralympians has been described as a “disaster” by the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce.
The pre event attracted athletes, council staff and elected representatives and invited guests. Photo: Supplied.
The Friday event held in Victoria Square, Cambridge on December 13 was dubbed Party in the Park by the council and supposed to run for three hours but it flopped when fewer than 500 people showed up – some suggest it was only 200 at most.
The News has asked a number of questions of the council including how much the event, which included a pre-event invite-only function at the nearby Good Union restaurant, cost.
Sources have suggested a total cost of $40,000.
Elected representatives, Waipā staff and the athletes’ families formed part of the official party as did parents of Cambridge Middle School’s kapa haka group which provided the welcome. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Liz Stolwyk
The same sources said food trucks were disappointed at the numbers that attended while a free bus service, using the new electric buses, from Te Awamutu and Hamilton had fewer than a dozen passengers.
Waikato Regional Council staff were on hand to promote its regional transport service and confirmed there were only two people on the bus from Hamilton.
Deputy mayor Liz Stolwyk was disappointed the party went ahead as a standalone event when the same weekend there were visiting rowers and cyclists competing at Lake Karāpiro and the Velodrome.
She suggested it could have been held earlier in the month as part of the town’s Christmas Parade or the Great Kiwi Summer Expo at Karāpiro in November.
Less than two hours into the three-hour event, the public had mostly left. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Kelly Bouzaid
Chamber chief executive Kelly Bouzaid said her organisation was not consulted and also called the event a disaster. Destination Cambridge general manager Ruth Crampton said she told the council the Christmas parade on December 1 was a good option. Hundreds of people packed the streets to see 51 floats, the most since 2017, despite steady rain.
“That was the answer, it would have cost (the council) nothing. Stick to your knitting council,” she said.
Another with no involvement was Cambridge Community Board. Chair Jo Davies-Colley said council’s focus should be its core business.
Jo Davies-Colley
“I believe it also has a role to play in ensuring Waipā is a great place to live and visit. However, in these austere times, that needs to be financially sensible and balanced.”
Stolwyk said having the celebration at the same time as another event would have been cost efficient.
“Those other options might have been more viable because the crowd was ready to celebrate the Olympians.”
The council in a media release before the event said December 13 was the only time it could get so many athletes together in one place.
Stolwyk, who manages Mighty River Domain through her company and formerly managed Cambridge i-Site, is a veteran organiser of past parades celebrating athletes’ success but said she was not consulted.
Midway through the question and answer session for athletes, and 75 minutes into the event, the sparse crowd is obvious. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
