Katikati Mainly Music turns 22 with a community birthday party

Katikati Mainly Music (KMM) is throwing open the doors of St Paul's Presbyterian Church this Saturday, 23 August, for a birthday celebration from 3pm to 4.30pm. The event marks several milestones at once: 35 years since Mainly Music was founded at Hillsborough Baptist Church in Auckland by Jo Hood in 1990, 25 years of the programme in Australia, 20 years in the United Kingdom, and KMM's own 22nd birthday in Katikati. Past volunteers, leaders, and families — present and former — are all invited along.

Team leader Cheryl Harray says KMM is one of more than 650 groups worldwide, meeting each Friday during school terms from 9.30am to 11am. A 30-minute music session using props such as scarves, bean bags, and a stretchy rainbow ring is followed by morning tea and time to eat, play, and chat. About 20 families attend weekly, with roughly 40 children on the roll, cared for by a team of 15 volunteers.

Harray says the magic of the programme lies in the connections it creates — children making friends, parents sharing parenting tips, and volunteers finding purpose. She describes moments where exhausted parents have arrived close to tears, not having had time for breakfast, and the team has stepped in with a warm drink, food, and a helping hand with the children. "We're real, they're real, and we can help in practical ways," she says.

Anyone wanting to find out more can visit mainlymusic.org.nz.

Originally published in Katikati News (Sun Media).