Tomorrow will be a ''massive'' day for Kurow, with a ''Final Fling'' being held to mark the completion of the two new twin-lane bridges between Kurow and Hakataramea.
The Bridging Waitaki Waters community event starts at 11am on Kurow Island. Singers Jason Kerrison and Bex Murray and the No Reason Band will be performing, more than 50 stalls will offer food and Christmas shopping opportunities, jet-boats will be on display and there will be a helicopter-dropped lolly scramble.
Media liaison Elizabeth Hayes said the event had grown significantly since the idea was first pitched. A community committee has been working with the New Zealand Transport Agency and contractors McConnell Dowell Constructors on celebrating the end of the $21 million project.
Organisers hoped the event would generate more exposure for Kurow, she said.
''It'll showcase the town and show what we can do.''
It will also be an opportunity to reveal how the once-desolate Kurow Island has been transformed with native plants and landscaping. The island has been cleared of gorse and broom and grassed, and further development is planned by the Kurow Town Enhancement Group.
Entry is free to the Final Fling, which will be a ''fun, family-friendly day out''.
A celebrity tug-of-war will also pit north of the river against the south and there will be a Riverstone Kitchen cooking demonstration, children's model bridge creations and an exhibition by Duntroon artist Burns Pollock.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will officially mark the occasion, along with a parade of horses and old and new vehicles over the two bridges.
