DJ SuperGran: the 81-year-old on this year's R&V line-up

At this year's Rhythm & Vines Festival, Molly Pardoe will get behind the decks and show the crowd that age is just a number.

Repping the local charity SuperGrans Tairāwhiti, the life-long volunteer hopes her special ten-minute set of house remixes of pop bangers will show elderly women are still down to be part of the party.

"We don't just knit and crochet. We do amazing things, including DJing," she tells RNZ's Afternoons.

One of Pardoe's many grandchildren, who range in age from 11 to 30-something, was astonished to hear on the grapevine that his nana was part of the 30 December lineup in Gisborne.

"He rang and said to me, 'Nan, are you doing a DJ set at R&V?!' He couldn't believe his ears."

Pardoe, who loves all kinds of music, is "from the rock and roll era", so particularly partial to Elvis Presley and Rod Stewart, and also a bit of Barbara Streisand and Celine Dion.

To get up to speed on house music, she says she was given a crash course from some "very, very patient" local musicians.

"I'm a quick learner. I'm not afraid of a challenge... I'm not feeling nervous about it. I can just go out there and give it heaps.

"Basically, we just need to say grandmothers are great people, always lots to learn, and we love to have fun and sing and dance. So let's just prove that we can do it.

As well as Pardoe's DJing turn, SuperGrans Tairāwhiti will be looking after Rhythm & Vines festival-goers at a stand called Granstand.

"We'll have a nice, chill-out place for folk where they can come and relax. And we'll pamper them, and we'll look after them and just ensure that they can feel they've come and relaxed and know all about us as well. And then go off and have another fun night dancing."

Gisborne locals who get support from SuperGrans Tairāwhiti are often reluctant to ask directly for support, Pardoe says, and part of her volunteer work is assuring them there's no shame in receiving.

"Often it's quite embarrassing [for them], but we wrap our arms around them and say, 'Come along. We're not going to judge what your needs are. Whatever we can do to help you, we'll be there to walk alongside you'."

The charity offers budgeting advice, parenting advice, help with planting home vegetable gardens and all-ages cooking classes, she says.

"You see people come in a bit quiet and shy, but once they've gathered together and realised, 'Oh, I'm not the only one that doesn't know how to do this', they learn these magic skills. Then there's lots of fun and laughter, and enjoyment in learning how to cook meals. It's wonderful to see the change in people.

"The feedback we get from people who come to our workshops or experience our support has been absolutely wonderful, that's the buzz."