Its all happening at Christmas time this year!!

Who needs Willy Wonka? Putaruru has it's own golden tickets..........
Shop Local and Win!!

By supporting local business, you have a chance to win a tropical holiday to get that much needed R&R. The winner of this years prize will be able to choose a holiday in either Fiji, Vanuatu or Samoa!!!

Participating shops are also offering a prize instore where the only entrants will be their customers and the prizes being offered are very generous, a great reward for shopping local.

Late openings is being offered by participating stores, the nights are:
Friday 11th December - until 6pm - why not come into town early and do all your Christmas shopping before the float parade?
Saturday 12th December - until 2pm
Friday 18th Decemebr - until 7pm (Christmas show at 6.45pm)
Saturday 19th December - until 4pm

Customers taking advantage of late openings will go in the draw to win a stocking full of prizes. With all the rewards being up for grabs this year, why shop anywhere else?

A Room at the inn

After the popularity of this event last year we are running A Room at the Inn once again at the Putaruru Hotel. This years rooms really are masterpieces and appeal to all age brackets and style types. Public viewing and voting is currently happening on Tuesday, Thursdays and Fridays 7-9pm until the 17th of December, entry is a gold coin donation. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will be announced on the night of the Christmas Variety Show at The Plaza on Friday 18th of December.

Christmas Float Parade

This years parade will be happening on Friday 11th December on Overdale and Princes Street at 6.15pm. The theme this year is tropical paradise, a place that we all dream about being this time of year. Why not come and support our community groups by viewing their fantastic floats, head to A Room at the Inn afterwards and then out into the community to view the entrants in Light up Putaruru.

Lighting up Putaruru

Some members of our community have been hard at work creating fantastic displays for the community to enjoy. Please support their work by taking the time to view their displays, maps are available at the Room at the Inn.

Christmas Variety Night

Friday 18th December, 6.45pm at The Plaza
Tickets $5 Adults, $2 Children. Available from the Putaruru Information Centre and The Plaza

Come and celebrate the festive season with us this year at the Christmas Variety Night. Come along and see a variety of Christmas dance, songs and Christmas carols with a twist and join in the community Christmas spirit.
All of the towns Christmas promotion prize winners will be drawn between acts on this night.

Rangiura Dementia unit charity house $1 reserve auction

Don't forget that on Saturday 12th December the Rangiura Dementia unit charity house auction will be held at the old South Waikato Marine yards along SH1. There will also be a market day where there will be a range of products on offer. The house auction will start at 1pm.

Artsfest a great weekend with community spirit shining through!!

Putaruru's weekend of Artsfest started with an explosion of talent on show with Putaruru's Got Talent. The acts ranged from vocalists, dancing, instrumentalists and cultural displays to a unicyclist. These acts showed the vast array of talent present within our community and it was great to see a big turnout of community support on the night. Judges placings were:

1st Forest View High School Polinetia Fa'atasi group, an amazing and polished group whose performance of polynesian song, dance and instruments wowed the audience.

2nd Undercover - consisting of Joshua Sager (drums), Christopher Monteith (piano), Grady and Hayden McMahon (violin), their amazing instrumental of the mission impossible theme and spy comedy made this quartet a hit with the crowd.

3rd Brianna McPherson, although Brianna is a year 10 student, her jazz perfromance of Tequila was very professional. Expect to see great things in the world of dance from this young lady.

Saturday saw the start of a stunning community mural depicting the blue springs which will be entered into the Resene mural masterpieces competition.

An exhibition of artwork from local schools was held in the plaza and these pieces showed once again the level and variety of talent within our community. Sandra Ogle kindly donated one of her amazing paintings to the high school student whose art piece impressed her most. Claire Birks of Bella creative kindly donated a portrait sitting to a student whose photography impressed her most.

An exhibition at the Putaruru Hotel on Saturday and Sunday showcased pieces by the floral art group, quliting group, Sandra Ogle, Claire Birks, Fiona Barrett and Fireworks Pottery. Card, chocolate, pottery tile and balloon animal making classes were held which was great fun.

Throughout the weekend the community jumped on board with 'Walk the Line'. This community master piece will be displayed in the Putaruru Information Centre from next week and we urge everyone to view our community creation.

Saturday night saw teams from the Rubix Cube night invade Putaruru. This was a fun night and the winners - Mother Truckers kindly donated their prize money back to Pride in Putaruru. This genorosity shows the community spirit and heart that Putaruru has which we are proud to be a part of.

We are appreciative and proud of the community support we received throughout Putaruru's Artfest weekend and thank all involved.

Putaruru's weekend of Artsfest

This weekends Artsfest kicks off with a showcase of the great talent the South Waikato has. "Putaruru's Got Talent" is on Friday night at the Plaza (not at the Arapuni Hall as previously advertised), starting at 7pm and entry is free!! Refreshments will be able for purchase during the show. The program has a wide range acts and it would be great to have a huge turnout of people to support the talent in our community.

• Check out the Schools art exhibition at the Plaza - Saturday and Sunday from 10am - 4pm. Each school will take turns providing light refreshments during the day as a fundraiser.

• If you're in town - 'Walk the line' - look out for the big canvas in town and paint on a simple line to help create an artistic masterpiece.

• Sign up to be part of the Putaruru community mural, where painters will create a scene depicting the Blue Springs. We shall then enter this mural in the Resene Community Mural Competition.

• Call into the Putaruru Hotel on either Saturday or Sunday to see displays of art work, floral displays, photography, patchwork and pottery. On Sunday learn how to shape balloons, make cards and chocolates in addition to all of the above. Charges apply to some classes and places are limited. Contact the information centre on 883 7284 for information on these.

Rubiks Cube Night is almost here - do you have your team?????

We have the Rubiks Cube night on Saturday 17th October as part of ArtsFest 2009 - you need teams of 6 starting at 6pm at the Putaruru Arms Motel...If you are interested in getting a group together, or coming along and need us to get you into a group, let me know as soon as....$5 individual or $30 per team...

You get a team of 6 together, and the team leader appoints each person a colour in advance - one must be red, one blue, one yellow, one white, one green and one orange.

You can wear Jeans / trousers, however, your tee-shirt / top must be of the colour that you have been appointed.

In addition to your jeans and tee-shirt, you need the following:

eg: My colour is red - I have a red tee shirt.
1 item of blue
1 item of green
1 item of white
1 item of orange
1 item of yellow

These items must be cheap as you will be swapping them with other people. So such items as:
beads, bags, hats, gloves, scarves etc etc etc...

You start at the Putaruru Arms at 6pm until 6.30pm. When the whistle blows, you need to swap a colour to get another to match your tee shirt..

You will then be given 15 minutes to get to the next venue...

The order will be: Putaruru Arms 6pm - 6.30pm
Hog & Hounds 6.45pm - 7.15pm
The Club 7.30pm - 8pm
Crown & Anchor 8.15pm - 8.45pm
Hillbillyz 9pm - 9.30pm
Putaruru Hotel 9.45pm onwards

The final venue is the Putaruru Hotel, and Mark is currently organising entertainment. When the final whistle blows, the first full registered team to the flag with all 6 members in one full colour each (ie, 1 all red, 1 all blue, 1 all yellow and so on) wins half of the money taken in registration. The other half will be used as a fundraiser for the Christmas season of events.....

In the event of a tie - a small quiz has been prepared to determine the winner.....

We suggest that you shop local - such as the $2 shop or coin save or Rainbow Hall in town. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE support the local charity shops, as they DO give the proceeds back to our own community....

Remember that if you have names for your teams and you want to get it onto your tees, we have 2 tee shirt printers here in town - Nick at Simple Sign & Print on Neal Street and The Stitch Witch on Princes Street - they may get busy, so be in quick, and support local wherever you can!!!!!

We also suggest that you alternate alcohol with soft drinks to get full enjoyment of the evening...

Business Awards WINNERS....

Pride In Putaruru would like to thank Pub Charity for their generous support of the 14th Business Excellence Awards, Radio Forestland for their support of the Retail Award and Kay Humphries of Travel Managers Putaruru for her VERY GENEROUS sponsorship of the Business Awards - for the businesses that attended on the night and completed a questionnaire and went in the draw for a weekend in Wellington including flights and accommodation.

We had a fun filled evening with our 10 'Air Hostesses' starting the housekeeping in the style of the airline safety information complete with all hand signals...even down to the hot towels, sick bags and air safety cards - albeit spoof...

Ginette McDonald kept the laughter flowing pointing out the many differences between males and females, and a wee banter between the crowd as they slow clapped her into the room!

Here are our Winners:


WINNERS

Retail – Unichem Pharmacy and Photo Centre

Health and Beauty - Steinies Barber Shop

Hospitality - Taste Co.

Professional Services - PathLab Putaruru

Manufacturing, Engineering and Distribution Public Vote - Putaruru Engineering

Manufacturing, Engineering and Distribution Judges Choice - Southside Engineering

Manufacturing, Engineering and Distribution Judges Choice - Runner Up McCormack Transport

Professional Services to the Community - Putaruru Information Centre

Rural Services and Contractors - The Veterinary Centre - Putaruru

Best Window Display - Unichem Pharmacy and Photo Centre

Runner Up Window Display - Over the Moon Dairy Co.

Rural Employee of the Year - Dorothee Frey

Consistent Service Award - The Team at Unichem

Putaruru CBD Boss of the Year - Neil Nottle

Putaruru CBD Employee of the Year - Grace Hutcheson

Mel Embling Enterprise Award - Kuranui Lodge

Best Overall Business - Unichem Pharmacy and Photo Centre

A massive WELL DONE to ALL of our Putaruru Businesses who despite the tough economic climate, continue to provide fantastic services to town..

Dougy Petley sings the National Anthem at the All Blacks game tonight....

Message From Anne White:

Make sure you are watching the very talented Dougy Petley sing the National Anthem at the ABs v Boks game tonight - we are all so proud of him here in his home town of Putaruru!!!

The Business Awards are almost here.....

Well the Business awards are just around the corner...check out details here:
2009 Business Awards

Things are certainly going well with the planning, and we have some great things for the night! This year, we are aware how everyone is in need of a good night out, and so we have great food, great music, great staff and a fantastic speaker (Ginette McDonald) to add the humour as we celebrate our amazing businesses in town!

Tickets are open to business and residents alike, and planning has been underway since February....

Dress Code: Anything for flying in...

If you are a business, or business manager - don't forget to fill in the immigration form on the night(quick business survey), and be in with a chance to win a weekend in Wellington - courtesy of Pride In Putaruru and Kay Humphries of Travel Managers Putaruru.

Tickets cost $60 - price includes dinner and entertainment.

*** CASH BAR ***

PLAZA 50TH CELEBRATIONS ......

The Plaza Theatre is celebrating its 50th year in September 2009. To begin the birthday celebrations “Shane Cortese and his 50’s Jukebox Show Class of 58” will be rocking the theatre’s seats with music from the year The Plaza was born. Shane has starred in many musicals in the West End of London and throughout the United Kingdom where he started his performance career. He returned home for the role of Dominic Warner on Shortland Street - a role the New Zealand public has not forgotten even after the character was killed off in dramatic fashion. He was the street’s longest serving villain, having played him over a two year period.
More recently, Shane danced his way into the hearts of the New Zealand public on the hit show ’Dancing with the Stars’. He and dance partner Nerida Lister shimmied their way into the final, and on their way raised $156,000 for Shane’s chosen charity, the Starship Foundation.

The Class of 58 has played to sell out performances in New Zealand’s largest theatres. They play some of the best Rock ’n’ Roll music ever written, and a memorable part of the show is Shane doing the Elvis numbers, a role he played for a year in London. You can check out their website www.classof58.co.nz

And if that’s not enough to get you reminiscing, The Plaza would like to take you back to the early picture days of cinema. Saturday and Sunday will host a film festival presented by The New Zealand Film Archives. Saturday’s afternoon programme focuses on footage from the Waikato region and ends on a nostalgic note with the feature film “Don’t Let It Get You” A light-hearted comedy with music set in Sydney and Rotorua. It’s best described as a tonic film that doesn’t let the blues get you. When it finishes, you feel as if the time has gone too fast and you leave the theatre wanting to see it all over again. Produced and directed by John O Shea and starring Howard Morrison, Gary Wallace, Carmen Duncan with special guest star Kiri Te Kanawa. The celebrations finish on Sunday with a trip down memory lane and footage from the 1950’s.
So please come along and get your popcorn and celebrate the birthday of the South Waikato’s Performing Arts Centre.
Timetable of Events
Date Time Event Cost
Friday 11th September 2009 7.30pm Shane Cortese and the Class of 58 $35
(Doors open at 6.30pm)
Tickets available at:
The Plaza 07 883 8596
Putaruru Information Centre: 07 883 7284
Tokoroa Information Centre: 07 886 8872
Fraser’s Bookshop Matamata: 07 888 7787


Saturday 12th September 2009 2.00pm The New Zealand Film Archive
ADULTS $5 CHILD $3 (Doors open at 1.00pm) The Waikato Programme

ALL ABOUT THE WAIKATO 1931 - 1972 , 90.00
A compilation of 19 films showing the Waikato in all its glory . The programme includes recreational activities - trout fishing, sports, and regattas. Power From the River , a rousing Government film on the development of hydro electric power on the Waikato River, showing the men who worked around the clock to build the stations will be shown. Newsreel clips include the 1948 Waikato Winter Show and the Frankton Tornado as well as the Queen’s visit to Turangawaewae Marae in 1954 and the Sole Brothers Circus performing in Matamata. MP Hilda Ross puts in an appearance and the 1956 Springbok game in Hamilton is played in front of a crowd of 31,000 people. The 1957 parade of homes is shown as well as the Hamilton County Blue Grass Band in 1968.

Saturday 12th September 2009 7.30pm The New Zealand Film Archive
ADULTS $5 CHILD $3 (Doors open at 6.30pm)

DON'T LET IT GET YOU, 1966, 80.00 Feature Film
New Zealand’s first pop musical, produced by Pacific Films.
Cast : Howard Morrison, Gary Wallace, Carmen Duncan
Special guest star : Normie Rowe
Guest artist : Kiri Te Kanawa
With: Harry Lavington, Alma Woods, Tanya Binning, Ernie Leonard, Eric Wood , Anne Sharland
And Featuring: Rim D. Paul, Gerry Merito, Herma Keil, Gwynn Owen, Lew Pryme, Eddie Lowe, Eliza Keil, Keri Summers, Paul Walden and the Quin Tikis
Producer & Director: John O'Shea, Pacific Films

“A light-hearted comedy with music. Set in Sydney and Rotorua, the story centres around ‘The Rotorua Festival’, a young drummer (Gary Wallace) and his girl Judy Beech (Carmen Duncan). Howard Morrison plays himself and as such comes across on screen as naturally as if he were sitting right opposite you. Rim D. Paul, Eddie Lowe and the Quin Tikis are seen in many mad-cap situations; also more serious ones, as when Eddie Lowe and Kerri Summers sing ‘Why am I Alone Now’. Kiri Te Kanawa is delightful and the expressions on the children’s faces when she sings to them in a Maori meeting house are truly unique. Gerry Merito, Herma and Eliza Keil, Gwynn Owen, Lew Pryme and the Impacts are seen in various zany situations throughout the film. William Broadhead (Harry Lavington) and Mrs. Beech (Alma Woods) are the villains of the story. They join forces to part Gary and Judy. To sum up ‘Don’t Let It Get You’ can best be described as a tonic film that doesn’t let the blues get you. When it finishes, you feel as if the time has gone too fast and you leave the theatre wanting to see it all over again.” - (from Pacific Films press material)

Sunday 13th September 2009 2.00pm The New Zealand Film Archive
ADULTS $5 CHILD $3 (Doors open at 1.00pm) 1950’S Programme

FILMS - newsreels, documentaries and sports coverage from The Film Archive
1959 was learning to drive on a Ford Prefect in the days of bottled milk deliveries; Selwyn Toogood was on the radio, Edmund Hillary returned from Antarctica, the Auckland Harbour Bridge was opened and the Rugby 3rd Test British Isles Vs. NZ attracted 57,000 people! Come along and see...

Business Awards are on their way........

Don't forget, planning for the 2009 Putaruru Business Excellence Awards is well underway!!!

Where: The Plaza, Kensington Street, Putaruru.
When: Saturday 26th September 2009
From 6pm to 2am..

The theme of the evening is:
HIGH FLYERS IN BUSINESS

Tickets cost $60

Come along and enjoy an evening of celebrating our local businesses..In these tough economic times, our businesses are working twice as hard to bring their service to the community..Laugh along with the humour of Ginette McDonald and dance the night away to the sounds of Johnny Dryden - Disco Entertainers..

Brought to you by PUB CHARITY and Pride In Putaruru...

What's My Line

Last year, Bex & I took our then 11, 10 and 9 year old sons along to this. It truly was awesome and we had a blast. The show is coming back again on the 1st August and I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone who enjoys the hit show - 'Who's Line Is It Anyway....' and yep, we will be back!

Pub Charity show their support once again....Thank You!

Many many thanks must go to Pub Charity who have supported another application regarding the decoration for the Putaruru Business Excellence Awards.....This will help to keep the cost of the awards down to just $60 for an evening of celebration, laughter and entertainment! Local businesses will be celebrated! Ginette McDonald will be flown in to provide us with the laughter - much needed with the economic climate at the moment..! And Johnny Dryden - Disco Entertainers will have us dancing away until the wee hours of the morning! Book your flight with us, get your boarding pass - and join us for the flight (oops night) of the year!

Saturday 26th September
6pm onwards
at The Plaza....

For details, contact Pride In Putaruru - Annie or Bex on 07 883 7272

Pride In Putaruru would like to thank Pub Charity for their support in 2009!

School Holiday Programme - Wai Warriors...

The Wai Warriors stream clean up will take place on Thursday 16th July WHATEVER THE WEATHER. Instructions are as follows:

Be at the Mason Reserve access via Galway Crescent at 1pm on Thursday 16th July. We shall work until 4pm.
We preferably need numbers by Tuesday 14th July - please book your place with the information centre - 883 7284.
You need wet weather gear if it is raining.
Gumboots or sturdy work shoes.
Gloves to protect your hands.
Spade or digging gear.

Afternoon tea is provided.

Don't worry if you do not have any of the above - many hands make light work & we'd love to have you along..

Midwinter Madness at Puketurua Hall...

This weekend there is a Midwinter Christmas night at Puketurua Hall. Starting at 7.30pm, you need to bring a Christmassy plate for supper, your own drinks & nibbles and costs $8 to get in and dance the night away to Johnny Dryden - Disco Entertainers...

Gary McCormick on Putaruru

I was lucky enough to be at home on Tuesday when I recieved a text telling me to check out TV ONE. Having missed the segment due to the good old network time delay rurally, I went online to find the following video clip from Gary McCormick singing our great towns praises....what he didn't say was that he had written off his rental car on route and John McLean had to go and pick him up...lol...Good on you Gary for seeing what a great town we have here!

Click here to link into the video on the TVNZ website...

Who are these guys...

After searching the ol You Tube, I came across this and love it....I need these guys for our talent night for ArtsFest in October.....

Does anyone know who they are???

BLOOPER ALERT....

BLOOPER ALERT....Claire from CEROC has just been alerted to the fact that she has given us the wrong date for the new CEROC course here in Putaruru....24th June is the opening night for the new CEROC dance course and NOT 17th June as stated in the Prattler - thankfully for once this wasn't one of my typo's....lol. HOWEVER, not one to miss an advertising slot, NICOLA WARRINGTON from the Plaza has pointed out that the 17th June is actually the Freemasons Junior Secondary School Debate - so you can attend that instead, then go to CEROC the week after!!

It is “Odyssey” time again at Putaruru Library....

It is “Odyssey” time again at Putaruru Library

This programme is for age group 12-17 years and involves reading books and giving a verbal report to Library staff with points gained towards prizes with each book read. For written reviews there is also a draw each week to win a prize.

Enrolment begins on 15 June for one week. Reporting is from 22 June to 31 July and the programme finishes with a party to be held on 7 August.

Call into Putaruru Library for more information and to enroll.

LTCCP Submission at the South Waikato District Council...

Here is the recent submission to the South Waikato District Council from Pride In Putaruru on the LTCCP (long term plan)...I'm usually lucky enough to be behind the lens, but on this occasion, I had to be be on the other side..We had 6 major areas of concern for us - especially the Urban Design of which you will now know that we have funding for the actual concept - but then we shall have to find the funding to improve the look of Putaruru. Air quality, economic development were also on our submission headings with other categories falling under each one, time seems to fly so fast as you only have 10 minutes to have your say & answer questions..

Correct Name At Last...

Poor Kaylah Mcginity of Putaruru College...Earlier on the Blog, we had incorrectly spelt her name not once but twice on the Arts & Crafts section winners - when copied over to our Prattler newsletter, once again they were incorrect - HOWEVER, once notified, we have corrected the Blog - and say a huge sorry to Kaylah for the incorrect spelling....

Whoo hoo - The Telfar Drumline Is Here...

Check this out everyone, it is the Telfar Drumline from the 2009 Earth Hour in Putaruru, I think that Brian Telfar is doing a fantastic job here - wow how great are these kids...A huge thanks to Mike from @Junction here in town for recording the footage and getting it onto You Tube - thanks Brian, The Telfar Drumline, Cirque Alazas and all who attended!! CRANK UP YOUR SPEAKERSS TO FULL VOLUME FOR A FANTASTIC EFFECT!

New Prattler In Print..

Well, the new Prattler has gone to print and should be back to us this week for re-distribution...A massive issue this time - 12 whole pages with a big special on Communities and Schools - namely our schools - from Tirau right through to Lichfield... Lots of photographs, and already, we're underway with the next issue that has a focus on our trustees! As I've said before - and in this Prattler, we can't run any advertisements because we're currently funded by The Southern Trust - but it is crammed full of community information...Well the farms have finally got the rain that they have been waiting for - and with it for joe public comes the housewives nightmare - undryable clothes...I can't believe how excited I was last week to walk into Mitre 10 Putaruru and find a mobile clothes dryer - one that looks like a smaller version of my spinner outside, but stands alone and can dry the clothes by the fire without the need for an electric clothes dryer - my excitement of the find also highlighted my need for a new life maybe..I was beaming all the way home! If you think that you need one too...go ask Christine at Mitre 10 and they can help you out..Did you also know, that if you really want to shop local, you can go to a Mitre 10 mega, get the product code from anything that you want, then come back to Putaruru Mitre 10 and order it here..And also an obscurity I know, watching the famed Extreme Makeover - home edition..did you know that both Dean Gittings of Art & Signs and Nick Walsh of Simple Sign & Print both have printers that can make WALLPAPER FROM A PHOTO....and Nick can print photos onto canvas, AND both Nick, Dean & Linda from Stitch Witch can cut laser cuts for walls & windows so you can now plan real trendy bedrooms and have it made in our very own Putaruru - centre of the universe..

Right, I'm supposed to be on holiday, so off to strip some bedroom walls! Watch out for some photos soon!

Tough Kids..........Thank you St Mary's & Lichfield...

Wow - what resilient kids we have here in town - first the Putaruru College and Te Waotu kids working through a huge dump of rain, however today, I rang around all of our schools still to work on the waterway, and St Marys we definate that they wanted to plough on assisted by a team from Lichfield - the work needed to be done whatever the weather...Greg Shaw and his parks & reserves team brought along 500 plants to be dug in and the group ploughed through the work. Greg explained to the groups that they needed to dig a hole twice the size of the rootball to make it easier for the roots to go through the ground as they develop. He also showed how far the dirt should go up against the plants to prevent them from rotting off and dying.. Mrs White of St Marys collected the old plant pots to grow new natives from seed - and Greg Shaw is going to arrange delivery of the seeds. We cranked up the bbq and cooked over 150 sausages donated by Wallace Corp, gave the kids bottled water donated by New Zealand Quality Waters of Domain Road and the bread and chocolate bar was kindly paid for by His Worship Mayor Neil Sinclair. I would like to thank all of those involved especially the hard working kids who all we impecably behaved and our parent & teacher helpers who braved the cold & wet to assist us. Thank you to our sponsors, and I look forward to going back to see how much they have grown...

Mason Reserve / Oraka Walkway Clean Up.......

What a day. We had the big clean up planned today for down at the Mason Reserve - just beyond the Oraka Reserve. For those of you that slept through the torrential rain last night, the day was in dispute from 7am. A quick call to Greg Shaw at council, and we made the decision to go to Friday which was our planned postponement day. Every school and helper had been rung by 8am, newspapers and toilets postponed, and Fridays meetings brought forward to Wednesday so that we could clear the decks for Friday - however, my boys were alarmed that they would now have to go to school. By 9am, things had started to clear up, and so Nina called from Putauru College to say that most of their kids had arrived at College in mufty and raving to go - so basically, could we go ahead with the college kids and start the clean-up and Fridays kids could do the planting....like I'm going to refuse free help! By 10am, the heavens opened and torrential rain poured until around 10.15am...Thankfully it cleared and we managed to get in an hour of clearing - my kids were most impressed that they got to go to school later AND they've completed another segment of PRIDE homework.

We have lots of planting organised with council for Friday, getting ready for the Wai Jazz for the water festival on 14th February next year.

The kids worked exceptionally hard, got through vast ammounts of work and had impeccable manners - so a MASSIVE thank you to Putaruru College and Te Waotu School for the first section of this stage of the clean-up, and heres hopefully to Friday with Lichfield, Putaruru Primary, St Mary's and Tirau School.....fingers crossed!

Many thanks to His Worship Mayor Neil Sinclair and Wallace Corporation for assisting Pride In Putaruru in providing refreshments for the children and helpers - including hot chips today and a sausage sizzle lunch on Friday.....

Totally Free Computer Courses....

Wintec is running FREE Computer courses in Putaruru from the 4th May until the 14th May. The mobile computer classroom will be based at the RSA carpark - lower level. Session Times: 9am - 5pm (Monday - Thursday) 9am - 3pm (Friday).

The Certificate in Computer Skills (Level 2)
Certificate in Information Communication Technology (Level3)
Digital Workshops.

No appointment necessary,
Attend for minimum of 2 hours, stay as long as you like, complete at home in your own time.
Ongoing follow up support available.
For more information contact:

Chris Lord @ Wintec
07 878 6558

or stop in at the Putaruru Information Centre to collect a free information leaflet.

This is a great chance to upskill for no cost at all......

World Earth Hour 2009...

Here is the video by Mike at @ Junction of Cirque Alazas at World Earth Hour -

New Prattler....

Well, the new version of the Prattler is out - and last week caused us to pull our hair out at a few things - character building my mother would have called it....I could think of many other phrases! Many thanks must go to Nolan from Odeon computers for your help ance again, and to Dave McPherson for your input too. We had hoped to get the paper out in time for Easter - however things outside our control meant that it arrived on Tuesday after it rendering the details of the co-operating Church services out of date.. That was one we'll just have to take on the chin for this time - going (or getting) to print for the first time in this style had it's fair share of complications - hopefully they have all been ironed out in time for the next one.

Speaking of the next one - we want to do a feature on weddings from this year of Putaruru people. If you or someone you know have been married recently - send us a photo to info@putaruru.co.nz in jpeg format with details of the ceremony (brief) and we'll get it into the newsletter - although if you are sending a photo on behalf of the bride & groom, we will need their permission to put it into print.

The school holidays are here, and despite the farmers needing rain badly, many parents are breathing a sigh of relief with the weather..If you're looking for something to do, why not revive the art of salt dough - cheap, safe and easy.

Check out these articles:
kids salt dough ideas


or more complex - make a salt dough pizza clock

get really creative at Salt Dough in Provence

but most of all, enjoy the holidays!

Busy,busy,busy - now we're back!

Sorry! Things around here have been sssoooooo busy that we've missed our post! So here it is.... The new Prattler has finally gone to print after many many glitches - aagh! Since the last BLOG - we've had the Top Team Competition - winners primary -Te Waotu, winners intermediate - Te Waotu, winners Adults - McTotopers - photos below:

And we also had Earth Hour at Glenshea Park - this was organised as a laid back picnic - with the Telfar Drumline and Cirque Alazas giving us a great firy rendition. Check out the pictures below and many thanks to Christy Harper and Willow Totterdell for aditional photos....

Top Team and Axe Men, then on to Tirau!

This Saturday will see the Top Team and Axemens Festival in Putaruru at Glenshea Park. The Axemen will start at 9am, Top Teams must be registered by 9.30am, schools will start at 10am and Adults races will start at 11.15am. There will be a Pride In Putaruru fundraiser sausage sizzle, and should anyone wish to have a stall at the event, please contact either Annie or Bex on 883 7272. If you want to register a team - please contact us as soon as possible!

THE AXEMEN WILL HAVE FIREWOOD TO SELL ON THE DAY............

After this event - why not make your way through to Tirau where they are having a massive weekend long PRE-STOCKTAKE SALE, massive bargains to be had at participating stores!

Monster Auction, Axe Men and TOP TEAM.......

Don't forget that tomorrow - SATURDAY 14th March is the Lions Club Monster Auction at Glenshea Park in aid of Rangiura Dementia Unit - the auction starts at 9.30 am and it's is for a fantastic worthy local cause! Gaye Lamb has just come into the Information Centre and said that there is a MASSIVE ammount of items for auction - so get down there in the morning!

Next Saturday will see the Top Team and Axemens Festival in Putaruru at Glenshea Park. The Axemen will start at 9am, Top Teams must be registered by 9.30am, schools will start at 10am and Adults races will start at 11.15am. There will be a Pride In Putaruru fundraiser sausage sizzle, and should anyone wish to have a stall at the event, please contact either Annie or Bex on 883 7272. If you want to register a team - please contact us as soon as possible!

THE AXEMEN WILL HAVE FIREWOOD TO SELL ON THE DAY............

Finally - the photographs from some of the entries from the Pride In Putaruru Arts & Crafts at what should have been the A & P Show last weekend if the rain and howling wind hadn't appeared!

More Dates For Your Diary....

13th—15th March: Tirau Footpath Gallery Project.

14th March: Putaruru Lions in conjunction with Putaruru Rotary. MONSTER AUCTION….Glenshea Park—starts 9.30am. All proceeds to Rangiura Dementia Unit. No reserves…Contact Sheryn Hamley 883 7217, Anne Hughes 883 8552, Sue Dixon 883 7675.

27th March: Tutu’s On Tour, The Plaza — Ticket price $30 Adult, Senior $25, Child $12 or Group $10 per child if 3 or more with 1 Adult. Contact The Plaza on 883 8596.

21st March: Top Team and the Axe Men at Glenshea Park - as the event could not be held on the 28th February.

28th March: World Earth Hour Event, Pride In Putaruru is organising an evening of music & entertainment by candlelight in Glenshea Park. Free entry, bring your own picnic & candles. Contact Annie on 883 7272 for more details—or keep watching the BLOG……..

8th May - Pride In Putaruru, South Waikato District Council, Putaruru P.R.I.D.E. schools cleanup of the Oraka Walkway.....

10th - 13th June: WAI PUTARURU - Come and see us at the Fieldays - STAND KB23..........

19th September: Putaruru Business Awards - High Flyers in Business - at the Plaza - $60 per ticket. Contact Annie or Rebecca on 883 7272.

3rd October - OKTOBERFEST - Rural Party Girls & Rangiura present a German Beerfest to raise money for the new Dementia Unit at Rangiura. $50 per ticket. Tickets will be sold through the Information Centre.

9th - 11th October - ArtsFest weekend - opens in Tokoroa.

16th October - ArtsFest opens in Putaruru - Putaruru's Got Talent at Arapuni Hall in the evening, Circus School in Putaruru, Art Exhibitions, Interactive Art, Walk The Line, Putaruru Community Mural Painting at BP - Keep watching this space...

17th October - ArtsFest - Arts & Crafts at the Arapuni Hall, Circus School, Art Exhibitions, Interactive Art, Rubiks Pub Crawl, Walk The Line, Putaruru Community Mural Painting at BP keep watching this space...

18th October - ArtsFest Last Day In Putaruru - Arts & Crafts at the Arapuni Hall, Circus School, Art Exhibitions, Interactive Art, Walk The Line, Putaruru Community Mural Painting at BP keep watching this space....

23rd to 26th October - Artsfest opens in Tirau - ARTSFEST IN TIRAU RUNS ON MONDAY 26TH OCTOBER TOO AS THIS IS LABOUR DAY...

2nd December - Christmas Season - A Room At The Inn, Light Up Your Home, Light Up Your Street, Light Up Your Business.

12th December - Christmas Float Parade - Theme - TROPICAL PARADISE...Get planning nice & early!

19th December - Pride In Putaruru Christmas Concert at The Plaza - winners of our Christmas competition winners are announced.....

12th February 2010 - Fluid Fashion - the event to open the Water Festival.......The Plaza..

13th February 2010 - Putaruru Water Festival - Glenshea Park - all day and into the night!

14th February 2010 - Putaruru Water Festival - Glenshea Park followed by WAI JAZZ at the Mason Reserve in the evening - the VALENTINES event of the century!

MARCH 2010 - Date To Be Confirmed - MARCH OF THE MULLET with the Rural Party Girls raising money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.

Be A Blog Follower...

Did you know that you could be a BLOG follower....Simply click on the 'Followers' section by scrolling down it's on the right hand side, and register as a follower to get instand updates every time they happen......We have pictures coming on line tomorrow..

New Zealand Cheese Awards 2009

A MASSIVE CONGRATULATIONS goes out today to Sue Arthur and her team at Over The Moon Dairy AND Fonterra Lichfield who have bothe won Gold Medals at the 2009 Cuisine Cheese Awards in Auckland last night......

The Cuisine Champion Artisan Cheese went to Over The Moon Dairy for their Galactic Gold.

The New World Champion Washed Rind Cheese Gold award went to Over the Moon Dairy for their Galactic Gold.

The Hally Labels Champion Cheddar went to Fonterra Lichfield for their cheddar aged up to 25 months....

Over The Moon also won a Silver for their Over The Moon Camembert in the Inovative Packaging Champion Soft White Rind section.

Fonterra Lichfield went on to win Silvers with their Cheddar aged up to 19 months AND their Cheddar aged between 26 and 36 months, along with a NZ Food Safety Authourity Champion New Cheese Silver with their Cheddar and a Silver in the NZSCA Champion Export Cheese section for their Taupo cheese, and a Bronze in this section for their Gouda.

The competition is the crem de la crem of Cheese Awards and is very well contested, so well done from us all at Pride In Putaruru........

World Earth Hour....

PUTARURU'S EARTH HOUR EVENT...

SATURDAY 28TH MARCH

8PM TO 9.30PM

CANDLELIGHT PICNIC IN GLENSHEA PARK

THIS IS A FREE EVENT

COME ALONG AND JOIN IN

THIS GREAT EVENT FOR A

GREATER CAUSE....

CONTACT US ON 883 7272 FOR MORE DETAILS..

CLICK HERE FOR EARTH HOUR

INFORMATION

A & P Show Arts & Crafts Winners...

Wow - what fantastic entries we had to the Arts & Crafts section of Putaruru on Show - over 200 in total and considering the awful weather, we had around 200 viewers at the granstand. The tough decision to cancel the A & P Show, Axemen and Top Team was taken at 6am on Saturday morning, and whilst the axe men can't chop in the rain, it was the wind that stopped the A & P Show from going ahead, as the wind spooks the stock, and we had a 9m inflatable slide coming in for the Top Team event - we had visions of a scene from The Wizard Of Oz flying off into the sunrise...We had worked so hard with the schools with the arts & crafts since last December that there was never any chance of us cancelling.

Because of the met service weather forecast and the fact that we couldn't guarantee the roof in the grandstand, we couldn't put any artwork into the grandstand until the morning of the show - which saw Bex, Nat and myself up at 5am to set up working by car light as we couldn't find the light box which is in some random place in the building, we laughed, laughed and laughed some more and learned a big lesson. Finally we got there and here are the winners..

Cupcakes:
Year 1 - 3
1st Simon Pompey - St Mary's
2nd Lucy Gray - St Mary's
3rd Shaunee Maaka - St Mary's

Year 4 - Pride Bronze
1st Lauren Prichard - Putaruru Primary
2nd Karla Christensen - St Mary's
3rd Lily Bendy - Putaruru Primary

Year 5 - These cupcakes all passed for pride however as none were decorated the same (the criteria was 3 the same) our judge felt that despite the fact the cupcakes were amazing, no certificates could be given as the other categories were all judged on 3 the same. Our judge highly commended them all and commented on the hard work that went into them.

Year 6 - Pride Gold
1st Carmen Nicholls - St Mary's
2nd Tessa Gisby - St Mary's
3rd Tom Waterworth - Te Waotu

Year 7 - Pride Platinum - No Entries

Year 8 - Pride Diamond
1st Sam Waterworth - Te Waotu
2nd Teagan Wallace - St Mary's.

Adults:
1st Natalie Pompey


3 Handmade Cards or a Scrapbook Page
Kindergarten & New Entrants
1st Bostyn Brown - Charles Kindergarten
2nd Rakeihele Atutahi - Abbeys Place
3rd Brieze Mulafia - Abbeys Place

Year 1 - 3
1st Shaunee Maaka - St Mary's
2nd Georgia Wood - Lichfield
3rd Simon Pompey - St Mary's

Year 4 - PRIDE Bronze
1st Sam Wood - Lichfield
2nd Kristen Broad-Lemberg - Te Waotu
3rd Lauren Prichard - Putaruru Primary

Year 5 - PRIDE Silver
1st Thomas Boulton - St Mary's
2nd Paige McGregor - St Mary's
3rd Katie Georgia Buckley - St Mary's

Year 6 - PRIDE Gold
1st Joshua Van der Heyden - Lichfield
2nd Therese White - St Mary's
3rd Tom Waterworth - Te Waotu

Year 7 - PRIDE Platinum
1st Tegan Totterdell - St Mary's
2nd Kaylah Mcginity - Putaruru College
3rd Chelsea Downey - St Mary's

Year 8 - PRIDE Diamond
1st Sam Waterworth - Te Waotu
2nd Teagan Wallace - St Mary's

Year 9
1st Jordan Harper - Homeschool

Adults
1st Sharon Davey
2nd Carol Davey
3rd Carol Davey

Painted Canvas or Standard Painting No Bigger Than A3 in any medium:
Kindergarten
1st Dice O'Brien - Putaruru Childcare
2nd Maia Campbell - Putaruru Childcare
3rd Ayden Tuhura - Putaruru Childcare

Year 1 - 3
1st Victoria Dott - Tokoroa North
2nd Danielle White (Fantail) - Tokoroa North
3rd Danielle White (Kea) - Tokoroa North

Year 4 PRIDE Bronze
1st Katie Lyttle - Putaruru Primary
2nd Hayden Muter - Putaruru Primary
3rd Kristen Broad-Lemberg - Te Waotu

Year 5 PRIDE Silver
1st Thomas Boulton - St Mary's
2nd Ben Williams - St Mary's
3rd Paigan Broad-Lemberg - Te Waotu

Year 6 PRIDE Gold
1st Kathryn Skinner - St Mary's
2nd Carmen Nicholls - St Mary's

Year 7 PRIDE Platinum
1st Tegan Totterdell - St Mary's
2nd Kaylah Mcginity - Putaruru College
3rd Hannah Peato Lister - St Mary's

Adults
1st Sandra Ogle - Natures Koru
2nd Sandra Ogle - Misty Sea
3rd Anthony Hancock - Serenity

Beaded Necklace or Bracelet
Year 4 PRIDE Bronze
1st Lily Bendy - Putaruru Primary
2nd Maveu Polaapau - Putaruru Primary
3rd Karla Christensen - St Mary's

Year 5 PRIDE Silver
1st Selena Duncan - St Mary's
2nd Selena Duncan - St Mary's
3rd Katelyn Convery - St Mary's

Year 6 PRIDE Gold
1st Ella Batley - St Mary's
2nd Hannah Duthie - St Mary's
3rd Tessa Gisby - St Mary's

Year 7 PRIDE Platinum
1st Chelsea Downey - St Mary's

1 Stitched Item - either hand, embroidery or machine
Year 4 PRIDE Bronze
1st Abbey Dowd - St Mary's

Year 6 PRIDE Gold
1st Joshua Van der Heyden - Lichfield

Year 7 PRIDE Platinum
1st Grady McMahon - Homeschool

Year 9 - 11
1st Jordan Harper - Homeschool
2nd Jordan Harper - Homeschool

Adults
1st Elly Rutgers
2nd Judy Lloyd
3rd Christy Harper

Thank you to all of those that took the time to enter into the Arts & Crafts section of Putaruru on Show, and a huge thank you for those of you that made the huge effort to come and view the entries on a day of shocking weather....

Putaruru on Show and Putaruru A and P Show

Status Update:

• The Arts and Crafts is going ahead as planned in the Grandstand at Glenshea Park.

• Top Team - has been postponed until Saturday 21st March.

• A and P Show - has been cancelled.

• Woodchoppers - has been postponed until Saturday 21st March.

• This information is correct as at 6am Saturday 28th February.

Thank you.

A & P Show - Saturday 28th February 2009

Hi everyone - well the A & P Show is on tomorrow - and as we all know, the weather is none to flash to say the least....Here are the status updates:

Arts & Crafts: Will go ahead whatever the weather as it is inside.
Top Team - Will go ahead if it is raining - not if it gets too windy.
A & P Show - going ahead at this time.
Woodchoppers - will go ahead at this time.

Correct as at 4.10 pm on Friday 27th February. Please keep checking back for updates, or check the telephone message on 883 7272.

Thank you.

Information For The Arts & Crafts........

It was great to see so much interest from the children when we went around all the schools on Monday. As promised, here we have some links to sites that will give you some ideas for creating your entries for the Arts and Crafts section of Putaruru on Show at the Putaruru A&P Show.

CARD MAKING and SCRAPBOOKING

There is a lot of great sites for card making and scrapbooking on the internet, click here to see some examples of scrapbooking by kids. Here are some great examples done by kids here in New Zealand.

There are fantastic cards to see on this BLOG - we love looking at this site!

Don't forget that clip art can be a great source for images for your cards - and dafont has some amazing free fonts to download......Not only do they do fonts, but they have swirls & images (called dingbats) - check out the 001 Starship Gamma font HERE..how cool is that?

DECORATED CUPCAKES

Click here to see some amazing pictures of decorated cupcakes.
For those that have the cooking channel on Sky, there is an amazing programme called 'Ace of Cakes' and this is their website here...This is the website that we loved when doing Think Pink in town.... click HERE then click on each of the circles for a close up...! Trade me also has a great range of decorations for cupcakes too.......

BEADED NECKLACE / BRACELET

The Warehouse has a fantastic range of cheap jewellry findings such as wire, closures and lots of cost effective beads.....

Don't forget that you can make your own beads from paper or clay.
You could also try using bread dough clay.

STITCHED ITEM

Sewing Projects for Young Children.
There are many suitable sewing projects for children of all ages. Young children will enjoy simple projects, working with large, round-ended needles and felt or burlap. Simple shapes can be cut out for the youngsters to stitch around. Easy shapes include flowers, hearts, circles and stars. Looking through free clipart shapes can be a useful way to find patterns that can be printed and copied onto felt.
A more advanced project would be to stitch the two shapes together and stuffed. If the shape was a teddy or an animal such as a dog, then this could make a cute toy.

Sewing Projects for Older Children
For older children then projects could include making soft toys. These can be great fun and the children can chose to make their toy cute and cuddly or horrible and scary. Giving a child a couple of old socks, some scrap fabric and some stuffing could result in some interesting results. Glove puppets are also fun to make.
Other ideas include purses, boot-bags, pillow cases and pencil cases.

So hopefully this gives you all ideas and inspiration. Don't forget that Paper Zone, Coin Save and Toy World in Putaruru have a vast selection of craft supplies available. How great it is to support local!!!

Adult Section of the Art at the A & P Show...

Just to let you know that we have made an ammendment to the adult section of the PAINTING segment of the A & P show....

THERE IS NO SIZE RESTRICTION IN THE ADULT PAINTINGS, THE ARTWORK CAN BE ON ANY SIZED CANVAS / MATERIAL.

Dates For The Diary....

Dates For The Diary:
14th February: bnz & Putaruru Athletics Ribbon Day, Glenshea Park - contact Hilary Stephen 882 1400

21st February: Tatou Tatou Touch—10am start—contact Mark Hotham 021 626 609
Le Bop Dance Party—Pride In Putaruru Fundraiser—Doors open at 7.30pm
Gold coin donation, dance class starts at 8pm all at the The Plaza.
Pre party drinks & nibbles at the Putaruru Arms Motel -
contact Dave at the Putaruru Arms— 883 8307

28th February: Putaruru On Show, Arts Festival, Top Team, A & P Show, Axe Men, Young Farmers, Face Painting, Bouncy Castles—excellent family day out….
For details phone Putaruru Information Centre: 883 7284

13th—15th March: Tirau Footpath Gallery Project.

14th March: Putaruru Lions in conjunction with Putaruru Rotary. MONSTER AUCTION….
Glenshea Park—starts 9.30am. All proceeds to Rangiura Dementia Unit. No reserves…
Contact Sheryn Hamley 883 7217, Anne Hughes 883 8552, Sue Dixon 883 7675.

27th March: Tutu’s On Tour, The Plaza — Ticket price $30 Adult, Senior $25, Child $12 or Group $10 per child if 3 or more with 1 Adult. Contact The Plaza on 883 8596.

28th March: World Earth Hour Event, Pride In Putaruru is organising an evening of music & entertainment by candlelight in Glenshea Park. Free entry, bring your own picnic & candles. Contact Annie on 883 7272 for more details—or keep watching the BLOG……..

Mini Prattler Out Now...

Well - the new mini Prattler is currently being delivered around the Putaruru Ward - if you don't have a copy yet, you can call into the information centre for a copy or read the information below:

WELCOME TO OUR MINI-EDITION OF THE PRATTLER. THIS IS A SPECIAL EDITION RELATING TO THE PUTARURU ON SHOW EVENT TAKING PLACE ON SATURDAY 28TH FEBRUARY 2009 AT THE A & P SHOWGROUNDS, GLENSHEA PARK, PUTARURU. IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE A & P SHOW, AXE MEN, YOUNG FARMERS AND LOCAL PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS…. HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES??????
PRIDE IN PUTARURU NEEDS YOU……………….


PUTARURU’S TOP TEAM COMPETITION…


WE ARE LOOKING FOR TEAMS OF 10 TO TAKE PLACE IN THE
“PUTARURU TOP TEAM COMPETITION”
ENTRY COST IS $20 PER TEAM, AND A RIOTOUS DAY IS AHEAD OF US! THIS IS A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY FOR A TEAM BUILDING EXCERCISE FOR WORK, OR AS SIMPLE AS GETTING A GROUP OF FRIENDS TOGETHER...EITHER WAY,
IT’S FUN, FUN, FUN ALL THE WAY!
CONTACT US FOR REGISTRATION DETAILS……..
AN EMAIL VERSION IS AVAILABLE.


Arts & Crafts 2009…..

Pride in Putaruru Arts and Crafts Festival at the Putaruru A & P Show
Saturday 28th February 2009
The age categories are as follows:
Kindergarten and New Entrants,

Year 1 – 3,

Year 4 / PRIDE Bronze medal level,

Year 5/ PRIDE Silver medal level,

Year 6 / PRIDE Gold medal level,

Year 7 / PRIDE Platinum medal level

Year 8 / PRIDE Diamond medal level,

Year 9, 10 & 11,

Year 12 & 13,

Adults

Categories for 2009 are:
Painted canvas or standard painting no bigger than A3 in any medium.
* 3 Handmade cards or 1 scrapbook page.
1 Stitched item - either hand, embroidery or machine.
* Best decorated cupcake (must have 3 the same in any size)
Beaded necklace or bracelet.
* Please note that for kindergarten, New Entrants, Year 1,2 & 3, only 1 handmade card and 1 cupcake is needed.
Entry forms are available at the Information Centre, and also via email.
Completed forms must be returned to the Putaruru Information Centre by Monday 23rd February 2009

PLEASE NOTE THAT IN THE ADULT SECTION, THERE IS NO RESTRICTION ON THE SIZE OF PAINTING...

Finally...

Well - the initial run of work has been dealt with and now back to normal...So much has been happening here and all of it is positive! To date this year, we have been busy with trying to aquire more funding (like many others) and the following:

• Arranging new colour schemes for the planters for 2009 / 2010 with Greg Shaw from council and the schools & kindy's in Putaruru.
• The P.R.I.D.E. system for homework in many of our Primary / Intermediate children will now be linked in with us to provide community based homework.
• The A & P Show taking place on the 28th February - it's back to the old days with a new twist. We're working with all early learning providers, schools and home schoolers accross Putaruru to bring the Arts & Crafts back to Putaruru A & P Show. Check out our website for full details including the registration forms.
• March 28th sees the global EARTH HOUR where we are arranging a power free night of entertainment in Glenshea Park - we hope to see you all there...

Keep watching the BLOG as we start to build up the Community Event section too.

Don't forget to mark your event in at the Information Centre Diary - and keep them informed there so that they can pass on details to others......

Happy New Year

Well - how ironic is it that although the blog has been planned since July, being on holiday back in the UK has finally afforded me the time to create the blog..So Happy New Year everyone, and once I'm back in sunny Putaruru, the blogging will begin. Heres to a prosperous and event filled 2009!