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06 March 2019
The first-ever Far North Go Green Awards to be held at The Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell have elicited an enthusiastic response from throughout the region.
Tickets to the charity dinner on the 28th March sold out by mid-February. Promoters of the event, Russell Recyclers, also closed off entries to the Recycled Fashion Award a month earlier than anticipated when maximum capacity was reached.
There are four award categories – Good Green Idea Award, Outstanding Citizen Award, Outstanding Company or Organisation Award and Outstanding School Award. A total of 21 nominees made the finals.
Finalists in each of the four categories have already been determined. They come from Kaitaia in the north, Hukerenui to the south, west to Hokianga and east to the Bay of Islands. All category winners qualify for the Far North Go Green Supreme Award, to be announced on the night.
The Trash to Trendy Treasure Recycled Fashion Award has 13 creations from 11 entrants, including one designed and made by an eight-year-old from Russell. The youngest model is just one year old.
Judges are all Russell locals:
- Antonio Pasquale – Good Green Idea Award
- Terry Greening – Outstanding Citizen Award
- Ross Blackman – Outstanding Company or Organisation Award
- Alastair MacDuff – Outstanding School Award
- Janet Planet and Jayne Shirley – Recycled Fashion Award
There are two MCs for the event – Hon John Carter for the Far North Green Awards category and Ailsa Murray for the Recycled Fashion Award section.
Trophies to be presented on the night have been made from recycled materials by Kerikeri artisan, Dillon Te Puke.
The awards were made possible by two grants. One was from the Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community Board that allowed the Far North Go Green Awards to go ahead. The second was from the Creative Communities Scheme that supports the region’s artistic initiatives. The grant allowed the Recycled Fashion section of the Far North Go Green Awards event to be included and promoted.
Chairman of Russell Recyclers, John Maxwell, said all predictions for the awards were exceeded.
“We budgeted for 100 people to attend, and there will be 140 at The Duke of Marlborough Hotel dinner as well as designers, dressers and models in the Recycled Fashion section.
“We thought we might get 10 entrants in the Recycled Fashion section and received more entries than we could handle in the space allowed.
“The whole of the Far North community has embraced these awards and we are thrilled with the response.”
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For further information please contact Sandy Myhre 027 667 8591 sandymyhre@gmail.com
