Greetings from the Editor

Winter is definitely here and with the shortest day tomorrow, we will soon turn the corner toward Spring. We have had some spectacular frosts up our way and they are most welcome when they are followed by those days when the winter sun sparkles enough to warm you up just looking at it, despite the chilly temperature.

July brings some fun for families, with KidsFest celebrating its 30th year and offering a range of activities to get you through the winter school holidays, from dungeons and dragons to wild outdoor adventures. Check out the Waimakariri Events Guide in this months edition for this years KidsFest events. The Guide has something for everyone including arts, markets, music and more.

We celebrate Matariki this month and take the time to remember loved ones and share kai and quality time with family and friends. Visit Oxford for the Lights Festival or join in the family fun at Norman Kirk Park in Kaiapoi.

We are fortunate to have many services offering support to people who are struggling in our community. The Next Steps Website is a great way to find these services nextsteps.org.nz We are all challenged at times in our life and we need to lean on each other and these services for support during these times. Talk to someone, ask for help, people want to do that for you.

Don’t forget the ‘Five Winning Ways to Wellbeing’ to beat the blues this winter (and we all like to beat the Blues by nearly 50 points).

• Connect

• Be Active

• Take Notice

• Keep Learning

• and Give.

Kind regards Nicola