Our Community Gatherings

Every month we try to have a gathering for the community at the Inangahua hall. Our gatherings are a great way to stay connected and also just have a little bit of fun. In a small community these gatherings can make a big splash!

Our gatherings are usually on a Friday and kick off around around 3:30pm and last until around 7:30pm. It brings our community together for an afternoon/evening and it gives us a chance to catch up with each other, share important news or updates and to even share a meal together. Connection in a small community is vital, not only for sanity but also safety. We pride ourselves on being a caring community, one that looks out for each other, so our community gatherings play a key role in that.

The afternoon is usually spent doing either your own crafts (knitting, spinning, wood carving etc) or working on a community project such as the Inanga project, which is funded by a Creative Arts Grant. We have some amazing crafts people in our community, really a disproportionate amount for our population, we thinks its the charm of Inangahua that attracts them! Either way at our events there are always people working on projects, grand and small and they are quite often keen to teach those who are willing to learn.

Inanga ready to be decorated as part of the Inaga Art Project

And if creative arts and crafts aren't enough we also have a surprising array of sports and

indoor activity equipment, including a pool table, table tennis, darts, badminton, football and even a good old pack of cards. Often the games can get quite competitive (good-naturedly of course!) and is rather humorous, often resulting in lasting jokes and good banter. To be fair we quite often just make up the rules as we go, because it can be so much more fun when you don't take it too seriously.

And of course what is a gathering without food! Everybody needs to eat, and most people enjoy having a meal, so what better way to round out an evening that by sharing a meal together. Everyone brings a plate or something to contribute to the meal, which can sometimes meal we have six salads and no potatoes or sometimes we get piles of spuds and no salads. But that's the joy of it, every meal is different. And if its a little chilly, the fire in our supper room keeps us toasty warm while we eat, chat and just relax.

A shared meal with more spuds than salads

Our community gatherings have become a core part of our community, something we look forwards to, something we take pride in. For some its their main social activity for the month so we always want to make sure its worth it.

Everyone is welcome to come join us at the Gatherings and get to know our wonderful community, as it is we often get residents from Reefton coming out to join us. But please remember to bring a plate of food and a Koha for the hall, plus your craft goodies if you are wanting to join in there. We would love you to join us