Wine and Food festival raises over $18,000 for local charity
Tuesday 22 April 2008, 3:58PM
By Queenstown Lakes District Council
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The third annual PBT Gibbston Harvest Festival has raised $18,556 for the Gibbston River Trail - an 8.5 kilometre walking and cycling trail that is being developed along the Kawarau River from the Bungy Bridge to Waitiri Creek Wines.
The funds came from ticket sales to the annual wine and food festival and are additional to the $10,000 already raised by the Gibbston Community Association at the same event.
“The Wakatipu Trails Trust is extremely grateful for all the hard work that went into raising funds at the PBT Gibbston Harvest Festival. Fundraising is an ongoing challenge for us but through collective community effort and contribution we can make significant progress on our trails network. And of course the community will reap the benefits,” said Trust Executive Renee Bowman.
Organisers were thrilled with local support of the festival. “Great to see the industry and the public getting together and going for it,” said Jeremy Railton of Mt. Rosa Wines who provided the venue for the 2008 festival.
“With the support of Peter Baker Transport, we were able to expand the event, keep the ticket price at $10, and still deliver a big cheque to local charity. We couldn’t have done it without PBT,” said festival organiser Susan Stevens.
Local transport company, PBT, has already committed to renew their sponsorship for the 2009 festival.
“Once again the PBT Gibbston Harvest Festival was an outstanding event enjoyed by everyone who attended. The festival organisers really showed what a local community event can do and we are proud to be associated,” said Tim Le Cren Group Manager PBT Transport. “We are looking forward to another stellar event in 2009 and wish this years recipient (the Wakatipu Trails Trust Gibbston River Trail) all the best in their endeavours this year”.
Festival organisers also announced that The Winehouse & Kitchen has been selected to host the 2009 event.
Tim Morrison-Deaker, Wine Manager For van Asch and Freefall Wines said, “For van Asch wines and the Winehouse it was a proud day. We celebrated what is essentially the 'Gibbston lifestyle’ of great food and beautiful wine in our own backyard with lots of friends, and this was a real treat. The fact that the sun was shinning just highlighted how lucky we are to share such a great community with everyone.”
The committee is calling for nominations for the 2009 charity recipient. Among other things, eligible groups must be recognised charitable organisations contributing to the Queenstown Lakes District who are able to provide a minimum of 25 volunteers to assist with running the event on the day.
Interested local groups should contact Tim Morrison-Deaker at 442 7305 to apply or for more information.