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Otago Daily Times
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Chill no deterrent to school buskers
Schools in Gore, including St Mary's School (pictured), gathered up their very best songbirds and hit the streets, singing and performing for the hundreds of people who came out to support them or just found themselves in the middle of a bit of musical wonder last Thursday. PHOTO: GERRIT DOPPENBERG Thursday's weather at the "Freeze Ya Bits Off" busking competition in Gore helped the annual event live up to its name, with chilly temperatures making it a real test for the buskers. But that did not prevent the event attracting a big turnout of people to watch the local schools perform. The buskers' festival is a four-day extravaganza, as musicians spill on to the streets of Gore for honour, glory, and, of course, coins. On Thursday, the event began with local high school and primary school choirs leading the way with their performances and choreography. Gore District Council events co-ordinator Florine Potts called it a fantastic start. "It went really, really well. We had such a great turnout today with both students and supporters." She said over 500 people came out to watch the various schoolchildren sing along to hit classics. "Quite a few people who were walking stopped and listened, too. It was really great." Last year, the schools portion of the buskers' event was canned due to a teachers only day, but this year everything was in harmony, including the weather, even if it was a bit cool. Waikaka School took the big win, $500, a trophy for its efforts and a spot to perform in the final busking auditions on Sunday. Mataura Primary won $250 for second place. Ms Potts said it was a tough competition, the schools having brought their very best to the streets of Gore. Other busking winners Winners in other categories were: Upcoming artist 21 and over: Joven Palomares. Runner-up: Cameron Dixon Upcoming artist 15-20: The Connor Boys. Runner-up: Sometimes Never Upcoming artist under 14: Liam Keating. Runner-up: Lexia Virtuoso unplugged: Rufous Whistler. Runner-up: Jon Collins Virtuoso plugged: Father & Son. Runner-up: James Stent
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Chill no deterrent to busking songbirds from schools
Schools in Gore gathered up their very best songbirds and hit the streets, singing and performing for the hundreds of people who came out to support them or just found themselves in the middle of a bit of musical wonder yesterday. Pictured: Singers from St Mary's School. PHOTO: GERRIT DOPPENBERG Yesterday's weather at the "Freeze Ya Bits Off" busking competition in Gore helped the annual event live up to its name, with chilly temperatures making it a real test for the buskers. But that did not prevent the event attracting a big turnout of people to watch the local schools perform. The buskers' festival is a four-day extravaganza, with musicians piling on to the streets of Gore for honour, glory, and, of course, coins. Yesterday, the event began with local high school and primary school choirs leading the way with their performances and choreography. Gore District Council events co-ordinator Florine Potts called it a fantastic start. "It went really, really well. We had such a great turnout today with both students and supporters." She said over 500 people came out to watch the various schoolchildren sing along to hit classics. "Quite a few people who were walking stopped and listened, too. It was really great." Last year, the schools portion of the buskers' event was canned due to a teachers only day, but this year everything was in harmony, including the weather, even if it was a bit cool. Waikaka School took the big win, $500, a trophy for its efforts and a spot to perform in the final busking auditions on Sunday. Mataura Primary won $250 for second place. Ms Potts said it was a tough competition, the schools having brought their very best to the streets of Gore. "It all sounded really good. I loved how much effort the schools put into learning dances. "I saw a lot of country hats — they absolutely brought out their best," she said. Next for the busking competition are the audition rounds, for top local and national street musicians, who flock on to the streets to perform. The event wraps up on Sunday with the finale, where the top performers compete for cash prizes while being judged by professionals and the public. Performances are judged on musical talent, stage presence and audience engagement.
Otago Daily Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Cheese rolls fly off the shelves at fundraiser
The St Andrews Fair was a great success for the Church, with the cheese rolls in particular flying off the shelf and leaving organisers wondering just what the upper limit for the savoury treat is. PHOTO: GERRIT DOPPENBERG The St Andrews Fair was a runaway success, raising $500 more than last year and do not ask for any leftover cheese rolls because they sold like hot cheese rolls. The fair's success brings the fundraising total to $5167 for the church, with plenty of people coming through last Saturday. Convener Margaret Martyn was complimentary of all the fair had to offer, with baking, plants and of course the white elephant section making a splash once again. But by far, the runaway success story of the fair were the cheese rolls, as Ms Martyn said they flew off the shelves. "The cheese rolls are the most popular. "The girl who makes them had 37 dozen there, which were sold in 15 minutes. "We sold $2432 worth of cheese rolls over the year," she said. It took only a quarter of an hour to sell all the cheese rolls, which had Ms Martyn wondering just how hungry for cheese rolls Gore is. "It's just becoming more and more popular every year, we could have sold twice as many. "She thought she would have had enough this time but she didn't," she said. Despite how busy the sale was, the organisers managed to shut up shop at around 12.30pm, with a good tally in their pockets.
Otago Daily Times
23-04-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Walk of the cross marks Good Friday
PHOTO: REPORT GERRIT DOPPENBERG On Good Friday, members of various churches in Gore gathered together at the clocktower just before noon to begin the walk of the cross. Seventy-two Presbyterians, Catholics, Baptists, Calvinists and Anglicans attended with a representative of each denomination reading scripture and leading a prayer, before everyone sang a hymn. The congregation started at the clocktower, moving to the courthouse, police station, along Main St towards the war memorial, before finishing at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church for lunch. Convener of the walk Keith Gover said the event was a great way for all walks of Christianity to come together, and this was a major part of why the walk had continued. "I think it's one of the strengths of what we do. "Churches, each denomination tends to be quite insulated for all sorts of reasons. "And so it's good, we're not all that good at getting together so it's extra good when we do," he said. Mr Gover said this year, although there were slightly fewer walkers, he was happy with how it went. "[It was] very positive. "There's a few less than usual for some reason. "The majority of people here are an older framework, but there's a few young people hanging around," he said.
