It’s the show where you can buy everything from items for the home to sheep. And, if you like, take a jetboat ride.
The three day Waipā Home and Leisure Show at Karāpiro is a first for the district and opens tomorrow (Friday) morning.
The domain is well used to having thousands of people converging on it for major events – and this is a new one. Almost 80 retailers have booked stands in the Sir Don Rowlands Centre.
Good Local Media advertising director Janine Davy, centre, with team members Liz Beyleveld and Daniel Davy, (absent Joanne Poole) prepare exhibitor packs for the Waipa Home and Leisure Show at Lake Karapiro. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
The wait is over, the event is being brought to Waipā by Good Local Media – publishers of the Cambridge News, Te Awamutu News, King Country News and Waikato Business News – who are buzzing with excitement after months of preparation.
The company’s advertising director Janine Davy – no stranger to organising major home and leisure expos, who came up with the concept and has taken it through to fruition, says response to the event has been so good she is already planning a bigger event in 2025
It is a first for the region.
“We’ve got 78 exhibitors offering the latest trends for the home and garden, plus there’s food/liquor, leisure activities, jet boat rides down the Waikato River and a kids’ playground.
We even have freshly cut flowers for Mother’s Day. For show goodies, bring your own bag,” she said.
“It’s about time Waipā had something like this and the Sir Don Rowlands Event Centre venue is perfect for it.”
Home and Leisure shows are common in cities like Hamilton, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch which drag people into the big smoke.
They offer highly beneficial opportunities for the exhibitors but often result in lost sales for the regions. Often ticket prices prohibit the whole family from attending which is why show tickets are $5 for adults and children under 12 are free.
“That’s why we’re so thrilled to have our own Waipa Home and Leisure Show and we’re expecting visitors not only from nearby Cambridge and Te Awamutu but from the greater Waikato, including the King Country,” said Davy.
There will quite literally be something for everyone at the show.
Good Local Media publishes three community newspapers – Cambridge News, King Country News and Te Awamutu News and the Waikato Business News.
Good Local Media advertising director Janine Davy, right, with team members Liz Beyleveld and Daniel Davy, (absent Joanne Poole) prepare exhibitor packs for the Waipa Home and Leisure Show at Lake Karapiro. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
