All the fare of the fair will be on display and up for sale at this year's festival at Bushy Park on Sunday, January 21.

Every year the grand old lady of stately homes puts on her finery and people from all over the country flock to this famous festival in the park-like gardens of Bushy Park Homestead.

For a token fee of just $5 for adults and $2 for school students, visitors can enjoy the many attractions in and around the homestead, as well as non-stop music from 10.30am until 6.30pm from Emerald, Wellington City Jazz and the Valley Stompers.

Between 50 and 60 stalls will dot the grounds, tempting the tastebuds and flaunting their wares to the huge crowd. There will be food from West Coast whitebait to lamb burgers and everything in between, including a variety of tasty treats you probably didn't know existed. There will be arts and crafts, children's attractions, and also a chance to see the totally completed predator fence.

Since the completion of the fence the bird population has exploded, says Allan Anderson of the Bushy Park Trust, and once predator-free status was confirmed, the forest became a kiwi crèche with kiwi chicks roaming free in the safety of the bush. So while you're attending the festival, find time for a bush walk and sample nature at its finest.

The Bushy Park Festival is an annual event and is a way of saying 'thank you' to the public for caring about and contributing to the future of Bushy Park.

The beach at Mowhanau is a great place to swim and have fun, but please stay off the cliffs!

That’s the message from lifeguards and residents who fear that there may be another tragic accident at any time. The cliffs are composed of papa rock, which is really a very hard, blue clay. It lies in distinct strata, and when the wet penetrates to one beneath, the surface of this latter becomes as slippery as glass. With all the recent rains there’s a lot of water sitting in and behind it, making it very unstable. Climbing on it could very easily cause the rock to be dislodged and result in tonnes of waterlogged papa falling to the beach below.

At the moment there are lifeguards stationed at Mowhanau, and they say they are constantly asking people to stop climbing or playing on the cliff faces. Surf Life Saving spokesman Phil Gilmore said that their job is to ensure the safety of the public in the water, not to drag someone out from under a massive slab of papa rock.

The residents of Mowhanau have placed a sign, warning of the dangers, at the carpark above the stream. Previous signs placed nearer the danger spots have either been destroyed or defaced or, ironically, buried by falling papa rock.

So please, have fun at the beach, but be careful of the cliffs.

Top chess players check in to Wanganui

The Wanganui Chess Club was founded in 1865 and is currently hosting its ninth New Zealand Chess Congress, the first being in 1895 when it became the first city outside the four main centres to do so.

Forty-eight competitors, mostly from out of town, are here to contest the 114th New Zealand Chess Congress being held at Quality Inn Collegiate. There are four events, two of which are being held concurrently. They are the Championships, in which Wanganui is represented by Chris Barns, and the Major Open, in which six locals are competing. The Major Open concludes on Friday, January 12, after which there is the New Zealand Rapid over the whole weekend, and the New Zealand Lightning on Sunday.

All the big guns are here, including the famous Smith family. Bob, the current NZCF president and 1995-96 championship winner; his wife Viv, a former New Zealand women's champ and the most capped Olympiad representative, who is playing in the major open, along with teenage son Devon who is also displaying the family ability.

Women's Federation Master, Helen Milligan, is in town. Originally from Scotland she now resides in Auckland and is New Zealand's strongest player.

Congratulations to the Wanganui Chess Club and may you host many more congresses.

The Whanganui Summer School of the Arts is on this week with classes and workshops covering a broad spectrum of art and design.

Tutors from the UK, Australia, the US and, of course, New Zealand, have made Wanganui their temporary home as they share their knowledge of all things artistic, from bronze casting to fibre and fabric, culinary art to jewellery, glasswork to digital photography, and much more.

Included in the programme is a series of tutor presentations held each evening at the Davis Lecture Theatre, to which the public is invited.

Thursday, January 11
Fiona Wright (AUS) will share her skill of the use of textiles and fibre to create artworks. This will be followed by Leigh Mitchell-Anyon (NZ) with his vast experience of digital photography and Richard Stratton (NZ) with a presentation about his explorations in the medium of ceramics.

Friday, January 12
Garry Nash (NZ) and Layla Walter (NZ) will share their expertise in the popular and exciting medium of glass. Layla will cover glass-casting, while Garry will speak about glass-blowing.

All presentations are at 7.00pm at the Davis Lecture Theatre and are open to the public.

Until this Friday there is an exhibition of the visiting tutors' work at GK Gallery in Taupo Quay.

For more information contact the Summer School Coordinator, Katrina Langdon, Ph. 965 3801 ext: 62000.

A Wanganui representative team will this weekend attend the NZ Rugby Union Pub Charity National Sevens in Queenstown for the first time since the venue was shifted from Palmerston North four years ago.

Sixteen of New Zealand's Provincial Rugby Unions participate in the tournament with the top eight from the previous year and the host union gaining automatic entry. Others wanting to participate must qualify at one of a series of regional tournaments which are held throughout the country in November and December. Wanganui qualified at the Hurricanes Regional tournament held at Palmerston North in November.

The Wanganui team is predominantly younger players with a sprinkling of players with NPC experience included. The team also has a strong Fijian influence and includes several members of last year's City College 1st XV.

Wanganui has drawn a pool that includes Wellington, Manawatu and North Harbour. The first day results determine the section the team plays in on Sunday and who the opposition on finals day will be.

The tournament is broadcast live on Sky Sports1 and the Rugby Channel both days so Wanganui supporters will be able to see several of this exciting young team's matches live.

Wanganui's games on Saturday are: 11.40am Wellington; 3.00pm North Harbour; 5.40pm Manawatu.

The Wanganui team is: Tevita Cavubati, Ron Katonivere, Rokodaina Bativagone (City College); Andrew Evans, Daniel Rolls (Ruapehu); Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Qio Vacaga, Marcela Halbert, Korie Paio (Marist); Patrick Brooks (Ratana); James Linklater (Marton); Timoci Ului (Kaierau).

Barry Muir is coach, Renata Waitai the trainer and Ken Morton manager.

Vacancies

Property Officer
Applications close 23 January 2007

Parks Officer
Applications close 23 January 2007

Holiday services

Royal Wanganui Opera House Booking Office

Normal hours of Monday-Friday, 9.30am-5.30pm, resume from Tuesday, January 23.

Council meetings

We welcome members of the public to attend our meetings

Council Meeting – Monday, January 29 (Council Chamber)

Wanganui Rural Community Board – Change of Date
The meeting scheduled for Thursday, 18 January 2007, has been postponed and will now be held on Thursday, 15 February 2007.

Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are held at 4.00pm in Committee Room 2, 1st Floor, Municipal Office Building, 101 Guyton Street, Wanganui.

Agendas are available at the Customer Services Counter, Municipal Office Building, 101 Guyton Street, Wanganui, and the Wanganui District Library two working days prior to the meeting.