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THE<br />
geraldinenews<br />
NGĀPŪKŌREROOTEWIKIKIRAUKĀPUKA<br />
THURSDAY, <strong>10</strong> NOVEMBER, <strong>2022</strong> |16,000+ copies distributed with the <strong>Ashburton</strong> <strong>Courier</strong><br />
view online atgnews.co.nz<br />
FROMLEFT: Nicky Taylor with Zoe, Amelia Taylor, Maia Blair, Blake Taylor, Ayla Blair, and Ange Blair with Tain. PHOTO: Becky Talbot Some of last years entries. PHOTOS: Archives<br />
Its time to Light Up Geraldine<br />
Itstimetountangle those stringsofChristmas<br />
lights and dust off your decorations. LightUp<br />
Geraldine isback for <strong>2022</strong> and promises to<br />
add alittle sparkle tothe district during the<br />
festive season.<br />
Light Up Geraldine isthe brainchild of<br />
Ange Blair and Nicky Taylor, who, with the<br />
cancellation of so many events last year, were<br />
finding it hard to getintothe Christmas spirit.<br />
Ange says, It started after the Geraldine<br />
Christmas Paradewas cancelleddue to Covid.<br />
We were all so disappointed -especially our<br />
kids. Afterseeing arural SouthlandChristmas<br />
display competition, we decided to do something<br />
simple at our gates. Then, the next minute,<br />
others were joining in,and we realised wewere<br />
onto awinner.<br />
Thefriends saw an opportunity to make the<br />
townand country twinkle and decided to bring<br />
Light Up Geraldinetolife.Overwhelmedwith<br />
the support the initiative received last year,<br />
they say it was ano-brainer to bring it back<br />
for <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
Nicky says, Last year was beyond words;<br />
we couldn't believe how many got on board<br />
considering itwas pretty last minute and we<br />
didnt really knowwhat we were doing.<br />
In 2021there were entriesfromall over the<br />
district, with some displays going the extra<br />
mile and adding interactive experiences or<br />
photo opportunities. The duo were especially<br />
blown away by the Woodbury and Tripp<br />
Settlementcommunities. Angesays,Wewere<br />
pretty proud of their contributions. We are<br />
proudly rural ourselves, so to have the rural<br />
crew support us back by joining in was really<br />
special.<br />
Ange and Nicky say they are grateful for<br />
the support of their local sponsors, which<br />
enablesthem to offer prizes in various categories.<br />
Nicky says, We have lots of categories that<br />
cover both home and workplace, as well as<br />
town and country. We recognise that most<br />
rural displays are solar powered,whichadds<br />
anotherdimensionofdifficultytowork with.<br />
With entries now open, they are looking<br />
forward to evenmore people taking partthis<br />
year. Ange says, Its heart-warming tosee<br />
everyone donating their time and energy to<br />
spread Christmas joy. Wecant wait to see<br />
more homes and businesses get involved,and<br />
the community out and about during the<br />
evenings viewing thedisplays.<br />
Light Up Geraldine entries close on<br />
Wednesday, 7December, withdisplays to be<br />
up and ready to be viewed byFriday,<br />
9December. Interested in enteringorviewing<br />
the displays?Information is available on the<br />
LightUpGeraldine Facebook page,orcontact<br />
the organisers at lightupgeraldine@gmail.com.<br />
Winners will also be announced on theFacebook<br />
page. BECKY TALBOT
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