Auckland – The Southern Field Days near Gore are standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the biggest events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch as finalists in the New Zealand event awards’ best regional event.
The winners of the New Zealand Association of Event Professionals (NZAEP) annual awards will be named at a gala dinner at the Auckland Museum on August 4. Whanganui’s cemetery circuit street racing won the best regional event last year.
From humble beginnings the Southern Field Days near Gore have transformed into the second largest of its kind in the country, with 42,000 visitors. Judges say the field days have produced great year on year improvements.
“The event is an amazing commitment of volunteers. It is great to see a focus on improving issues and making a real difference. It has good community involvement, especially given the size and scale compared to the population.”
The Pop Up Globe in Auckland, Wellington Remembers, the Auckland Writers Festival and the Sparks 2016 classical concert at Hagley Park in Christchurch are the other regional finalists.
Judges say the Pop Up Globe was a wonderful idea and event. They say it produced fantastic engagement with stakeholders – including an impressive reach out to schools and teachers.
The Writers Festival showed significant growth and got the community and younger people involved. The event possessed a strong mix of revenue generating ideas while giving back to schools and participants.
Wellington Remembers is rated a standout WW1 remembrance event. It was an impressive series of activities over a number of days producing excellent cultural and historical alignment, according to the judges.
The Sparks 2016 classical concert in Christchurch attracted more than 70,000 people – the biggest crowd since the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes. The city’s beloved Christchurch Symphony Orchestra produced romance-inspired music to get everybody in the mood for Valentine’s Day.
Judge and Creative New Zealand chief executive Stephen Wainwright was particularly impressed with the extraordinary growth of the Auckland Writers Festival and the sensational debut of the Pop up Globe pointing to the local manifestation of a global trend – content that demands intellectual engagement and concentration.
NZAEP was set up 10 years ago to advocate for the burgeoning events industry in New Zealand. The annual awards celebrate the best of the best events in New Zealand.
For further information contact NZAEP chief executive Vicki Watson on 027 5376088 or Make Lemonade media specialist Kip Brook on 0275 030188.
Photo: A child at the Southern Field Days near Gore
