Celebrating Children's Day in New Zealand
In New Zealand Children's Day is always celebrated on the first Sunday of March. Selwyn Parenting Network prides itself on bringing an action packed Children's Day Event direct to Selwyn families - this is one of two annual flagship events that we host in the region, the other being Family Fun Day in October. On Children's Day New Zealand comes alive with activities and events designed to bring families together and show how important children are in our community. Our next Selwyn Parenting Network Children's Day is happening on Sunday 5th March 2023.
So what can you expect?…. FUN - FREE - FUN FOR THE FAMILY!! 🥪🍿🏰 🍿🤾🏾♂️🎤🚲🎯🎭🎨🤹🏽♂️🤸🏼♂️🚔🚒
Selwyn Parenting Network is always so proud to be bring this FREE Children’s Day Event to Selwyn, and we are already making lots of plans for Children’s Day 2023 on Sunday 5th March!! This is one event you MUST POP IN THE DIARY as we partner with the fabulous Faringdon and Rolleston Rotary Club to bring you FOUR action packed hours of TOTALLY FREE FUN, laughter, activities and games for the whole family!! 11AM - 3pm | Sunday 5th March 2023 | Foster Park, Rolleston.
We will have a variety of entertainment including:
🏰 Bouncy Castles
🐴 Pony Rides
🐔 Farmyard Friends
🚧 Children’s Road Safety Team
🚑🚒🚓 Emergency Services Displays
🚲 Pedalmania Recycled Bikes
🎈 Balloon Twisting
🎨 Face Painting
🍿 Food Stalls
Fundraisers and MUCH MORE!! A chance for you to connect with numerous children’s services providers and community organisations, all whilst enjoying huge amounts of fun with your tamariki and extended whānau.
🎉 In New Zealand Children's Day is always celebrated on the first Sunday of March. 🎉 Selwyn Parenting Network (SPN) prides itself on bringing an action packed Children's Day Event direct to Selwyn families and we have plans for our 2023 flagship event to be bigger than ever as Children's Day comes to life in Selwyn; all designed to bring families together and show how important our tamariki and rangitahi are in our community. Make sure to pop Sunday 5th March on the calendar for our FREE Selwyn Parenting Network Children's Day!!
Selwyn Parenting Network Inc has become renowned for its’ annual showcase events each year, alongside the other work we do connecting Parents, Families, Caregiver and Children to many community organisations and service providers in the region. We are involved in a number of projects and working closely with others to help empower parents and caregivers, and help strengthen families.
Celebrating our tamariki on the first Sunday of March for Children’s Day (a day recognised across New Zealand) has historically brought a huge free event to our region; one that attracts thousands along to enjoy various free activities, free rides, giveaways and entertainment.
In March 2021 - when many others cancelled their events due to unpredictable and constantly changing COVID Alert Levels - we managed to postpone our event by one week in order to make it happen. Shifting it by one week wasn't a small task, but it was one which we were determined to do; and we DID! Retaining 95% of our activities, entertainment and community partners, we attracted around 8,000 attendees on the day, and needless to say securing the help of over 60 volunteers was truly wonderful.
Then this year, with Omicron knocking on the doors of many kiwi households, we raced to put our thinking caps on. With a strict ‘limit of 100’ under our red alert levels, and the need for vaccine passports too, we needed to rapidly think how best we could bring a little treat directly to our Selwyn families. At the same time we wanted to spread the message of taking time for family connection - even if for just half an hour out in the garden - the goal was to encourage all families, parents, caregivers and children to take the time to sit together and make dreams - no matter how big or small. And with that, the idea was born....
How we pivoted in 2022:
Sunday 6th March turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year but with COVID restrictions in full swing, we had to think a little differently. Whilst almost all outdoor events were cancelled, this was not an option for us - we still wanted to mark this special day and just had to think a little differently.
So with selfie boards at the ready - to capture some awesome snapshots - and through our live coverage over on our joint social media channels, we got on the road and went to give away hundreds of FREE ice creams (across Selwyn) whilst spreading the message of families spending quality time together. Through collaboration with the One Scoop Or Two ice cream trucks we were able to keep Selwyn families informed of our whereabouts and managed to bring many (ice creamy) smiles to the faces of Selwyn children.
Taking it ‘on the road’ fitted well with the government nationwide 'Traffic Light' system and the Stop/Start life that many of us have been enduring over the past two years. Through bringing the ‘One Scoop or Two’ Trucks onboard with our idea, they were able to navigate the many different towns of Selwyn to bring ice creams direct to the children, thus avoiding huge gatherings in one specific area, and allowing children the excitement of hearing the truck, and lining up (following social distancing of course!) to receive their free soft serve or sprinkles ice cream.
Once again we proudly partnered with our fabulous principal partners: Faringdon. We were also proud to have the support of other funders who help to make our flagship events and our work happen including the Rata Foundation, Lotteries, COGS and also the amazing team at Rolleston Rotary Club.
Children's Day always provides such a great opportunity to all come together for our tamariki. If the world and current climate has reinforced anything to us, it’s that those we love and cherish are the most important element of our lives. We truly look forward to bringing another fantastic event to Selwyn for Children's Day in 2023 - Sunday 5th March 2023
Our sincere thanks to our Principal Sponsors Faringdon who help make this event possible.
