Whitianga Festival of Speed gets underway this Friday

by Sail-World.com and Whitianga FOS on 30 Mar 2009
Destination Mercury Bay in conjunction with Events Whitianga have confirmed dates for a Festival of speed next weekend April 4 & 5 2009.

Fast boats, cars, motorcycles and aircraft will all be part of the action.

It is hoped to have many of the participants arrive on the evening of Friday April 3.

Getting to Whitianga will be part of the fun and many may use the travel aspect of the event to create an informal rally.

Saturday morning will begin with a parade through Whitianga’s main street coinciding with a mass flyover.

The main street will become a focal point of the festival with a number of activities taking place there.

For full information see the official website www.whitiangafos.co.nz

Free admission
As there will be no admission fees for most of the entertainment it is bound to attract a lot of interest. However, donations to local service groups and organizations that will provide much of the organizational manpower will be gratefully accepted.

Since www.whitiangafos.co.nz!Whitianga’s_Festival_of_Speed was first announced in January, momentum has been gathering as elements are added to the program. Activities will begin on the evening of Friday, April 3rd with the arrival of many boats, cars and motorcycles. Many will take the opportunity to participate in a program which involves picking up clues along the way to win a prize such as helicopter and other action filled rides throughout their weekend at Whitianga.

An official welcome is planned for Friday evening in the main street where the visiting vehicles will be invited to park and form a public display. The Festival program will begin in earnest on Saturday morning with an aerobatic 'wake up call' display above Whitianga’s township.

There will be tons of white water sloshing about as a mix of jet sprint and jet ski races take place in an enclosed area of Whitianga Waterways canal system. At the adjacent Mercury Bay airfield there will be the initial stages of the NZ Open Helicopter Championships underway. This will be followed by a mass fly-in of aircraft which will park up at the Northern end of the runway to form a 'Wings & Wheels' display along with a number of interesting motor cars.

At the Buffalo Beach waterfront, a helicopter ping pong ball drop with prizes, War Bird aerobatic display, free style jet skiers and a surf Club rib race will form the 'curtain raiser' to the NZ Offshore Power Boat race which will see some craft travelling at speeds close to 120mph. All the while, there will be an air rally of fixed wing aircraft swarming the peninsula’s skies, visiting other airfields before returning to Whitianga.

Dirt bikes will be competing in a 'hare scramble' on the land adjacent to the Waterways, followed by rally car sprints, off road 4WD vehicle challenges and a number of novel activities. At the airfield, a further aerobatic display from YAK aircraft will be followed by a race between a jet helicopter and rally car over a measured distance.

Whitianga’s Market will operate throughout the weekend with all the usual arts and crafts on display.

Families with children are well catered for in the Festival with skate boarding displays, bouncy castle and other similar fun filled activities.

Around 6pm the town centre will resonate to the sound of 'Rolling Thunder'; a parade of hot rod, performance cars and motorcycles. Bring your ear plugs! They will park up for display in the main street along with offshore power boats and other machinery from the Festival.

At set times throughout the weekend, it is intended to close the main street to traffic to provide the opportunity for pedestrians to view and interact with the various displays. Live bands will perform at strategic locations along the street and the shops, bars and eateries will remain open late to serve the public.

Sunday’s program will begin at around 10:30 with 'Brunch on Main Street' where the assembled crowd will be entertained and thrilled by superbike stunt rider, Jason Deeming who is commonly known as Asphalt Assault'.

A further car parade down main street will be used to entice the public back to the airfield to witness New Zealand’s first Whopper Chopper race; a novelty team relay event which uses helicopters, motorcycles and axmen.

The program is scheduled to conclude around 1pm.

Visitors will be encouraged to park their cars in designated areas managed by local Lion’s Club then catch the buses which will continually travel a circuit including all main event venues.

Accommodation
There is a wide range of accommodation available including tourist apartments, motels, camp grounds and holiday homes. There will be overload camping space available for campervans and tents with limited toilet and water facilities. The organizers urge visitors to book accommodation early through Whitianga’s Information office on www.whitianga.co.nz

Whitianga Festival of Speed - Program
Time		Item		Location	Zone
Friday, April 3
4:00pm		Offshore Power Boat display		Town Centre	2
		Cars and motorbikes begin to arrive
		Car display
		Airforce Red Checkers arrival display		Airfield	5
Saturday, April 4
8:30am		Aerobatic display over town		Town and beach
		"Wake up"
9:15am		Official welcome plus car and		Town Centre	2
		motorcycle display
9:45am		Celebrity race		Town Centre	2
10:00am		Jetsprint		Waterways	3
		Jetski demo		Waterways	3
10:30am		Rallysprint		Waterways site	3
		NZ Open Helicopter champs		Airfield - North	5
		Wings and wheels assembly		Airfield - North	5
10:45am		YAK aerobatic display			1
11:30am		Big boat race		Beach front	1
11.45am		Freestyle jetski demo		Beach front	1
12:00pm		Pin pong ball drop		Beach front	1
12:20pm		Helicopter versus power boat race		Beach front	1
12.40pm		Warbirds aerobatic display		Beach front	1
1:00pm		NZ Offshore Power boat race		Beach front	1
All afternoon		Air Rally		Airfield	5
2:30pm		Pylon racing Yaks		Beach front	1
3/4:00pm		Skate boarding		Town Centre (Taylor's Mistake)	2
3:00pm		Helicopter / rally car race		Airfield	4
3:30pm		Speedway / demolition derby		Speedway track	4
6:00pm		Close roads		Town Centre	2
		Bands start
7:00pm		"Rolling Thunder"		Town Centre	2
		Cars and motorcycle parade
Sunday, April 5
8:00am		Road closed
9.00am		Thunder cat races		Beach front	1
9:30am		Parade of cars and motorcycles - park up		Town Centre	2
10:00am		Jet boat races		Beach front	1
10:30am		Asphalt Assault - motorcycle stunt		Town Centre	1
11:30am		Whopper Chopper		Airfield	5
		Helicopter, motorcycle, axemen team event
12:00pm		YAK aerobatic display		Airfield	5
1:00pm		Red Checkers aerobatic display		Airfield	5
		Festival officially closes