IT was a sea of red shirts and green aprons when Bunnings Warehouse Heatherbrae kicked off two weeks of festivities at their new store, with their official opening ceremony on Tuesday 16 January.

The ceremony was officiated by Cheryl Williams from Bunnings and Michelle Hammond, Bunnings Warehouse Heatherbrae Complex Manager, in front of a crowd of special guests from community groups and organisations across Port Stephens, and a large number of staff.  

Australian Racing Driver, Jamie Whincup was invited to the event to speak to the crowd on his achievements on and off the racetrack, and officially open the new store with Store Manager Michele Hammond.

The new Bunnings Warehouse Heatherbrae represents an investment of more than $18 million and employs over 130 team members. Several of the new team members are also qualified tradespeople with skills in horticulture machinery, plumbing and building and will be on hand to provide local residents with expert advice and tips for their D.I.Y. projects.

Bunnings Warehouse Heatherbrae covers more than 12,000 square metres and features an indoor timber trade sales area with a three-lane drive-thru, building materials and landscape supplies yard, kitchen and bathroom displays, café and outdoor nursery.

The new Bunnings Warehouse Heatherbrae will also provide customers with the opportunity to learn new skills by offering a range of hands-on D.I.Y. Workshops for adults and children.

Michele Hammond told News Of The Area, “We’re so happy with how our first couple of months have gone, the community has embraced us and we’re looking forward to being involved in many more organisations and groups as part of our plans to build community relationships.’

Cheryl Williams spoke to the crowd about the new store, commending the environmentally friendly approach that has been used when fitting the new Bunnings out.

The store is equipped with a number of environmentally friendly aspects, including a state of the art climate control system for the temperature within the store.

Michelle Hammond told the crowd she is proud of the staff who have come on board, and how well they have worked to get the story ready to open before Christmas.

She also welcomed community groups to introduce themselves to Bunnings management and let them know what is happening in the community so that they can get involved.

The iconic Bunnings Barbecue will have some added attractions for the next two weekends, as part of the Bunnings Heatherbrae official opening celebrations.

The festivities will feature a range of fun-filled activities including face painting, fairy floss, laughing clowns game, balloon animals, and a jumping castle. Heatherbrae residents will also have the opportunity to meet popular children’s character, Jorge the Minion.

On the weekends of 20-21 January and 27-28 January, as well as Australia Day, the free, fun family activities will include Clown & Balloon Animals, Jumping Castle, Laughing Clowns Game, Popcorn, Fairy Floss, Face Painting, Spin n Win Game and lolly Bags.

On 20 January there will also be an 11am celebrity meet and greet with NRL Football Player Nathan Ross, and Saturday 27 January will have a Live Radio Broadcast with KOFM from 10am and Minions Character appearances.