Kāpiti village – 25 years in the making

Residents at Kāpiti Village have had plenty of practice in having a good time.

This year marked the village’s 25th anniversary, and celebrations included everything from a cabaret, variety concert and choir performance, to movie shows and the creation of a history gallery in the hall. Not only that but residents also wrote a book and Bark gardeners planted donated trees, before celebrating it all at a cocktail party!

“One of the highlights of our anniversary celebrations was the cocktail party in October, where we unveiled a plaque commemorating our 25th anniversary planting project, and launched our book Village Life,” says Chair of the Residents’ Committee and one of the team behind the book, Carolyn Lane.

With ten residents from the early days still happily ensconced at Kāpiti Village, the cocktail soiree kicked off with an acknowledgement of the ‘Early Settlers’. District Mayor Gurunathan, Metlifecare CEO Glen Sowry (via video) and Operations Manager Gareth Carden gave speeches and resident Kert Snater unveiled the plaque to celebrate the planting project, which saw the village create a rhododendron bank beside the croquet green and plant several specimen trees.

It’s something that symbolises Kāpiti villagers’ love for their environment and their ability to come together to make things happen,” Carolyn explains.

Equally passionate about making things happen is the village writers’ group, who launched a spectacular 25th anniversary book tracing the development of Kāpiti Village and many of the highlights along the way.

The grand finale was the Village Vocals concert on October 25, featuring two decades of favourites from a choir that’s been bringing joy to Kāpiti Village residents since 1999.

It was wonderful to see original member Bettine Grafton at the concert, and the original pianist Kath Turkington at the cocktail party,” adds Carolyn.