Popular midwinter carnival turns into ticketed event and changes location
From reporter Hamish McNeilly:
The Dunedin Midwinter Carnival is one of the city’s most popular events, but organisers have changed the location and introduced ticketing to make it sustainable.
The annual event, traditionally held around the longest night of the year in the city's Octagon, will now take place over two nights – July 8 and 9 – at First Church on Moray Place.
“It is a little different to what we have done before,” Midwinter Trust chairperson Paul Smith said.
The event, which features giant lantern installations and large projections, is now in its 25th year, but Covid restrictions coupled with a rugby test between the All Blacks and Ireland prompted a new plan.
“We ended up adjusting the event, so it could go ahead, and that meant being able to control entry if we needed to.”
Being able to control entry meant it was now a ticketed event, likely to be limited to about 5000 people per night, and costing $5 a ticket.
A decision on what the event would look like in 2023 was yet to be made, Smith said.
“It would depend on the success of this year.”
Covering costs was essential as “these sorts of projects aren’t cheap”.
The $5 ticket price was similar to the ‘koha’ requested as a donation in previous events, which returned less than $10,000 last year.
“It has always been a tricky thing for us. Not everyone understands we are a small non-profit, and it is not the city council putting on the event, and so many volunteer hours go into it.”
The trust also had to store “these beautiful artworks ... and that is another thing that weighs on our minds”.
“We are constantly trying to find ways to make this event more sustainable ... and that is one of our responsibilities as trustees.”
Organisers planned to promote the event to audiences throughout Otago and Southland. Funding from Enterprise Dunedin’s Regional Events Fund had been secured as part of an effort to increase visitors from outside the city.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.
Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.
What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?
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4.6% Second half of November
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43.4% 1st December
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17.6% A week before Christmas
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33.3% Whenever you wish
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1.1% Other - I'll share below
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