Members of the Hastings New Zealand Flaxmere Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints marched in the 2014 Hastings Blossom Parade recently.
The Church's float, titled, 'Find Our Cousins,' encouraged the estimated 50,000 people who lined the parade route to go to FamilySearch.org to research their family trees.
Community groups participated in the 13 September parade with around 70 floats. The event marks the beginning of spring in the Hawke’s Bay region with over 50,000 spectators lining the streets of Hastings.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
“We had lots of fun and felt proud to promote family history this year," said Rikki Te Kira, president of the Latter-day Saints' Flaxmere Stake. A stake is a group of Mormon congregations.
“We wanted to follow up on our 2013 float which revolved around the temple, eternal families and values. We understand how important it is for us to connect with our families, those who are living as well as our ancestors who have passed away.”
The following day, approximately 150 people attended a 'Find Our Cousins' devotional. Individuals and families shared personal experiences searching family history.
Watch a video about this event