7 Reasons for the Love Pūkaha Dinner
by Helen Cordery
Pūkaha relies on visitor numbers, generous sponsorship and large-scale events such as the annual Love Pūkaha fundraising dinner to achieve its forest restoration goals.
This is one of the biggest nights on our social calendar and this year we have made it bigger than ever! Here are our top 7 reasons for the Love Pūkaha dinner (and why you’ll love it).
Here’s the lowdown of what the Love Pūkaha Dinner night entails, with seven reasons for why we (and you will) love it…
01
Mix and mingle
While some of our guests book full tables, others buy single tickets and meet people at the event.
This year we aim to highlight the neat networking opportunity such an event offers by allocating the first hour of the night to mingling in the “forest”.
Here you can browse the auction items, buy Mystery Envelopes, enjoy a selfie against our magical backdrops and meet new people. Don’t forget to use the hashtag, #Pūkahanz
Afterwards settle into our “glow worm cave” to listen to our special guest, the Honourable Eugenie Sage, New Zealand’s very own Minister for Conservation!
02
Amazing prizes
Our live auction features an incredible getaway for two to White Island (overnighting in Whakatane), a 2017 signed ruby jersey, a 7 night luxury escape to Queenstown, a helicopter ride into the heart of the Tararua Ranges for a one-of-a-kind experience with the Department of Conservation and more!
Meanwhile over at our SIlent Auction table, you can bid on a Marketing package, a social media package by Nectarine, a business consulting Workshop by Lester Wolfreys Consulting and many more.
We are also offering the sponsorshop of a school of your choice to visit Pūkaha.
03
Delicious food and wine
The Copthorne always puts on a good spread and this year is no exception.
Get ready for a delicious sit-down meal with unlimited wine and beer.
04
Great music
We are very happy to welcome local band, Fingers Crossed, to our stage who will take up their instruments at 9:30 pm until midnight.
Last year the Pūkaha team were the first to hit the dancefloor and we hope to repeat the moves again this year!
05
Plenty of fun for a good cause
Alongside the live music and yummy food, there is a live auction, silent auction, table quiz and mystery envelopes. These are $40 each and inside there may be a prize worth more than $100 in value.
Cross your fingers for a 3 month coffee subscription, a $100 Don Luciano voucher, a $100 voucher for Eketahuna Country Meats, a Wairarapa Garden Tour pass, a gift pack from Shine Hair Stylists (worth $120), Staglands Family Pass, PGG Wrightsons $100 vouchers, a facial at Alluminus Beauty Therapy and many more.
06
The forest goes to you
Although the event will be held at our local Copthorne in Masterton, there is no reason to think that the forest won’t be a constant presence.
Our theme of the Forgotten Forest means that you can expect to enter a lush forest, full of foliage and birdsong. We have also put together a “glow worm cave” reminiscent of Pūkaha’s very own glow worms.
The design this year has been creatively put together by Wild Rose Wedding Styling.
07
All back to the birds
Now for the big question – where does the money go?
All money raised goes straight back into the forest towards our successful breed for release programmes.
Have a look at our Captive Breeding achievements, and if you would like to know more about our work with the shore plover, have a read of this article.
More Love!
The following people have been hugely helpful with bringing the 2019 dinner to life:
Band: Fingers Crossed
Styling: Wild Rose Wedding Styling
Venue: Copthorne Solway
MC: Brent Gare
Auctioneer: Craig Nelson
Thanks!
Update: We are pleased to announce that the 2019 Love Pūkaha dinner raised $17,500! None of our work would be possible without the help of all of you, our corporate sponsors, business members, considerate public and the generous prize donors to this year’s Dinner. Now you can see why we get so excited!
Here’s a little shout out to them:
Live Auction
Angelique Hicks
Pitau Whakairo
Department of Conservation
Helping Hand
Silent Auction
Ata Rangi
Backblocks Environmental
DR Borman Ltd
Department of Conservation
House of Travel
Lester Hall
Lester Wolfreys
Lucalia Photography
Manawatu Knitting Mills
Mark Dimmick
Mount Bruce Lodge
Nectarine
Tara Swan
Tranzit
Union Square + Martinborough Hotel
Mystery Envelopes
Alluminus Beauty Therapy
Animates
Annapurna
Back in Action
Balter Bar
Bed Bath & Beyond
Bijou Estate
Brasserie 74
Buckhorn Restaurant
Bullick Blackmore
Carterton Hair Dresser
Clareville Bakery
Don Luciano
Eketahuna Country Meats
Electric Blue Electronics
Gelarto (Greytown)
Grand Illusions
Hannahs
Hedleys Books
Hunting and Fishing Wairarapa
Johner
L’Affare Coffee
La Fleure Floriste
Loco Coffee and Books
MiLady
Michael Hill
Nirvana Interiors
PGG Wrightson
Paper Plus
Paua World
Pinehaven Orchards
Pro Active massage
Rangitāne
Schoc Chocolate
Schubert Wines Limited
Shine Hair Stylists Greytown
Showcase Jewellers
Spark Masterton
Staglands
Superminx
Take Note
Tara Swan
The French Baker
The Grocer
The Hubb
The LAB (beauty salon)
The Offering Greytown
The Sanctuary
The Screening Room
The Village Grinder (Kuripuni Café)
Tonic Hairdressers Kuripuni
Trade Aid
Tripoli Bar and Restaurant
Trust House Recreation Centre
Tumbleweed Tees
Vivo
Wairarapa Garden Tour
Wild Grey Fox Store
Wild Oats