Pupils, and the principal, of Tinwald School were rolling along at a fast clip last week as part of a Wheels Week Plus fun day at the school.
Balloons and tinselled covered handlebars flew on scooters, drifters and bikes, next to rollerblades, skates and skateboards gliding around the play grounds.
School principal Peter Livingstone, himself playing safety monitor on an electric scooter, said it was part of the school’s tribute to Wheels Week Plus happening in Ashburton.
Wheels Week Plus, with main sponsor Greg Donaldson, is Ashburton’s annual iconic event where anything and everything with wheels is showcased.
‘‘We just thought we would have a bit of fun with wheels on a Friday, and join in some of the community events that happen around Ashburton as part of Wheels Week Plus,’’ Mr Livingstone said.
The children were invited to bring along their decorated – or undecorated – wheels.
They rode them around eagerly each break, then had an afternoon house colours parade to show off their rides and glides to each other.
Wheels Week Plus started as a tourism event in 1990. It was a hit and since then has drawn people in from all over New Zealand to experience the extravaganza of wheels week.
Now called Wheels Week Plus it has something for everyone – young and old to enjoy – and provides the district a chance to showcase its hospitality and beautiful scenery, this year starting with the first programme event, the Rotary Club of Ashburton Plains classic car run, on April 30.
Since then there has been a host of wheels events including the two day street sprints in Ashburton, TT racing, family bike rides, 4×4, two day speedway, swap meet, and motorcycle and hot rod shows.
The event is due to wind up this weekend with the last day of the official programme on Sunday.
Among the weekend activities is the Ashburton Motorcycle Club annual road ride on Saturday, and, on Sunday, the Ashburton Family Go Kart Club have a race day event at the Keeley property in Tinwald, and The Boys and Girls with their Toys event at Lake Hood.
It is being run in conjunction with the Classic Boats at the lake from 12.30pm to 3.30pm.
Anyone can bring along their motorcycles, classic cars, new cars, old cars, hot rods, trucks, fire engines or tractors and park up to be part of the static display.
It’s a free admission to be in, or to view.
