WE MADE IT THROUGH 2011
2011 has been a very long year full of events and projects. From volunteering on the gate of the Lawrence Summer Arts Festival, being a part of the Drama of the Tuapeka & Gabriels Gold Rush 150th celebrations, taking photos of the Quarter Mile, hosting the Wish Lantern Walk and Hart of Gold Family Reunion, organising the Time Capsule, entertaining at RWNZ & NZWI Co-Ord Day, to utilising our tracks for the Lawrence Duathlon on Country Fair Day.
We have completed our website upgrade thanks to a grant from Otago Community Trust, and, with support from Lawrence Lions, R&R Contracting and Toko Timber we have made advances on our signage project. We offer special thanks to Sharon Bayne and Mark Robbie for their time in creating and placing our new signpost with such precision, it is perfect. Also, to Tuapeka Gold Print for the quality branded promotional items we now have available. We are grateful for COGS continued support with a $3,000 global donation for 2011-12.
Our Weatherston & daffodil naming projects are underway, with more research and consultation required before completion.
It was an honour to be a part of the REAL NZ Festival and thanks to a grant from the 2011 FLF Lotteries Fund, we were able to step up to the mark and produce a quality event. In appraising our successes this year, in particular the RWC influence, it has been another interesting learning curve. We didn’t see many RWC travellers, but those we did see were well satisfied with their experience and came from all over the world. The other main impact of the RWC was the school holidays being moved; we missed the families we would normally see during our peak times, although the fabulous promotion through the Spin It Wide Campaign allowed us to reach a larger audience.
Carnivale Dayze was magnificent and everything we envisaged bringing magic and myth to the Brewery. People stayed all day, we had to use three paddocks to accommodate the parking and despite snow being forecast, we had over 500 through the gates. The fauns were perfect – leading children down garden paths and through the wardrobe, was straight out of Narnia. (Thanks to funding from Creative NZ)
Sincere thanks to all our sponsors and supporters who help make our Dayze brighter.
NZ2011 Festival Lottery Fund, Otago Community Trust, COGS, Clutha Creative NZ, Community Post, Volunteer Net, Craig’s Auto & Electrical, JK Lightcreations, R Warhurst Contracting, Department of Corrections, Tuapeka Gold Print, Lawrence Theatrical, Sharon Bayne, Mark Robbie, R&R Contracting, Toko Timber, Crafty Beers, Darlings Fruit Juices, Custom Signs, Turboweb, Tiny’s Milton Butchery, Couplands, Rory Purvis, Little Red Hen Trust, Hazel & Ewi Mihaka, Debra Murray, John Ralph, Coffee Mine Café, Lawrence Lions, Lawrence Area School, Lawrence St Johns, Beaumont Hall Committee, Jane Hogg, Leanne Allen - Avon, Helen Oldham, Alex & Lorraine Clark, Images of the Past, Mary Morrison, Robertson Shearing, Entertainers, Stall Holders and Volunteers.