Off the Top of My Head

By Paul Murray

In a small rural community like Karamea, people have different skill sets. When given an opportunity, a reason or a chance to share and contribute to a meaningful pursuit, the Karamea collective rises to the occasion. 

Incredibly, the KaraWearable crew has again inspired the community to rally and contribute to the cause, and on the back of successful events in ’23, ’24, the 2025 show was by far the best yet. 
Some set up the lights, the music, the set, the stage and decorations; others laid the carpet, set up the chairs, decorated the hall with potted plants donated by the local nursery, local businesses sponsored the prizes, printed the programme, posters and promotional material, wrote press releases, social media posts, spread the word, others erected the scaffolding, the catwalk and arranged the catering and ran the bar. And then there were the artists, designers, and creators, who, when given the opportunity to express their imaginations, got busy at home and fashioned some inspiring outfits that thrilled, amused, and blew minds. 

Many entries this year came from out of the immediate district, from over the hill in Granity and Westport. Patrons, too, came from afar, including Hokitika, Christchurch, the Bay of Plenty, and beyond. Thanks again to the awesome crew from the Lyric Theartre in Granity for supporting the event and coming dressed to the nines. Word is spreading, and the popularity of the KaraWearable event continues to grow every year. 

This year, designers and models leveraged lessons from previous shows, learned from mistakes, and built on successes, and the 2025 show was polished, well-rehearsed, and professional. The event organisers were also better focussed and applied their experience well to hosting the event in a simpler structure that showcased the outfits and models and enabled interaction with the audience, providing a showtime atmosphere that got the Karamea Pulse Energy Centre pumping.

This year, the models strutted their haute couture creations through the crowd, pausing on raised platforms to execute their little turns, allowing the audience to clearly see and fully appreciate the detail, effort, creative skill, imagination, and genius of each outfit. The kids enjoyed high-fiving the models as they strutted by, and the crowd interaction gave the event personality and a sense of fun that was appreciated by all concerned. This year, each outfit and model were announced by professional MC Cody Frewin, who informed the audience about the creations and mixed it up with good humour and witty banter. The designers could choose their own music this year as well and this worked well as the tunes supported the theme of their creations and added flair to their persentations.

The show opened with a Stella performance by the youngest model, Jaques Grobler (3), who rode his blinged-up tricycle the wrong way around the catwalk circuit to the tune of GeorHarrison’sn” ‘s “Here Comes the Sun,” stealing the show as soon as it had begun. Students from Karamea Area School followed with Jordan Miller modelling “Red Giant” in the Kowhai Class’s “Life Cycle of a Star” entry taking out the 1st Prize in the youth category. The creative Young family cleaned up the other youth awards with Madeline Young’s “Crow” taking second prize and younger sister Zoe Young’s “Crazy Emu” being awarded the “People’s Choice” gong.

The local Irish dancing troupe, “The Shamrocks,” dressed in elaborately decorated and beautiful traditional Irish dancing dresses, came on next and showcased their talents to an appreciative audience with high kicks, twirls, and jumps. Marshalled by their dedicated teacher, Juliette James, the littlies stole hearts and thrilled us all with their beautiful smiles, enthusiasm and skills. Three senior dancers performed a well-choreographed set, followed by a solo tap-dancing performance by Diva Murray.
Next on the catwalk were the adult entries, and…WOW…what a diverse and impressively creative show they put on for the show patrons. There were chickens, white baiters, princesses, fruity Carmen Mirandas, Celtic warrioresses, Coronaviruses, a mushroom, a campfire, and, someone always has to wear rubber”!

While the judges were deliberating and the people’s choice votes were being counted, the audience were treated to a fabulous acrobatic performance by Karamean gymnast, Lydia Barbour, who contorted her flexible, supple body into incredible shapes while suspended from a hoop under a tripod…I know right?

Best in show, according to the judging panel, was “Rona – Delta to Omicron and Beyond,” a playful yet poignant creation made from leftover PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) from the COVID-19 pandemic. Designed by local nurse practitioner Cathy Sampson and expertly modelled by schoolboy Elias Walker, the piece cleverly recalled the global disruption, fear, and social discord caused by the virus and the governmental response. As Elias strutted the stage handing out disposable face masks to the audience, he evoked vivid memories of lockdowns, distancing protocols, and the confusion of that era. Caroline Langford, took out the People’s Choice award with her flamboyant, self-modelled piece “Flowers in the Rain,” and Westport’s Lara Hall, fully rubbered-up, took second prize for modelling her friend Lynda Walker’s striking design “Chain Lash.”

It was great to see the involvement of the school children in the parade and the effort and dedication of their teachers to encourage the kids to make costumes and show them off at the show was commendable. The quality and craftmanship of the adult creations too were an inspiration for the youngsters, may of whom are already talking about their design ideas for next year’s event.

One of the many positive and constructive comments reeceived by the event organisers was to have more prizes because all who entered deserved to be rewarded.

The KaraWearable event is the kind of community gathering that is needed to bring people back together after the social divisions and disruptions caused by the epidemic. Well done, Karamea. Kudos to the event organisers, designers, models, volunteers, school teachers, kids, and everyone involved. Thank you to all the people who came to see the show. Let’s continue to host events like these to bring unity back into the community.

Photos above by Daimon “The NOMAD” Schwalger

Prize Winners:

Volunteers/Sponsors/Organisers:

KaraWearable 2025 Sponsor lists / Thank you list

Sponsors:

Karamea Real Estate Property Brokers

Karamea Four Square

North Beach Construction

SM Lowe Contracting Ltd

Kongahu Homekill

Karamea Hardware

Spot Prizes

The Scullery in Waimangaroa

Last Resort: Accommodation

Karamea Village Hotel: Meal Vouchers for Judges & MC

Thank you list

MC – Cody Frewin

Judges – Ruth Vaega, Alison Hale, Anita Mary Halsall

Juliette James for Irish Dancing

All the Irish Dancers

Lydia Barbour – Aerial Acrobatic Performance

Karamea Area School for the hall usage, gear/tool and ongoing support.

Karamea Four Square supermarket for providing drinks

Vinnie’s cafe for providing delicious food for the night

Karamea Real Estate Property Brokers for printing

Karamea Information Centre for handling the ticket sales

Clean Stream Karamea for providing plants to decor the hall

KCI for managing our finances.

Wonderful team of volunteers

Rosalie Sampson – Liquor Licence application, overall support

Dion Mawson, Nathan Young – Set-up (builders)

Brendan O’Dwyer – Lighting

Joshua Mansfield – Scaffolding

Bernie Onthecoast – providing lights

Sam Beach- Music

Stu Reid – Overall venue & set-up support

Robyn Waines, Mauritz Grobler, Sean Palmer – Set-up helper

Paul Murray – Photographer, Press Release

Daimon Schwalger – Photographer

Emilie Schmitthaeusler, Pete Moynihan, Dion Mawson, Grace Blackburn – Bar

Steve Schulz – setting up the bar ( drink transport and setup )

Aby Chalmers – On the door

Val Moynihan, Sina Tuiavi’i – Backstage

Sacha Healey, Sonoe Ohizumi, Robin Jones, David Guppy, Deborah Wagner, Sarah Wyles – Pack up and Exhibition helpers Slava Bobrovska and Rachel White for catwalk assistance.

Lily Sunley, Ella Turner, Maddie Wilson, Madeleine Young, Vika Bobrovska, Harriet Young, Yeva Bobrovska, Tane Anderson, Tilly MacMillan, Diva Murray for collecting People’s choice slips/

All the KaraWearable organising crew – Cathy Sampson, Liz Kerslake, Ange Cronin, Bridie Young, Sanae Murray and Jessie Creedmore

To all who have been part of this successful show, your support and presence have meant more than words can express. Thank you!