Harvest Hawke's Bay - Press Release

New Festival a Chance to Celebrate Hawke’s Bay Food and Wine After a Challenging Year

With Harvest Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand’s newest food and wine festival, only months away, organisers are humbled by the enthusiasm for the event as the region recovers from Cyclone Gabrielle.

Originally planned for last weekend (April 1st), the tough decision was made a few weeks ago to reschedule the festival for Saturday November 25 due to the impact of the cyclone on the region.

The new late-spring date has been met with overwhelming support from winery and restaurant partners, the public, and other stakeholders.

Harvest Hawke’s Bay event manager Liz Pollock says every winery and food producer previously signed up for the festival had recommitted to the new date, even though many had been severely impacted by the cyclone.

“It’s been such a challenging time for our fabulous food and wine heroes, and it’s heart-warming that they’ve embraced Harvest Hawke’s Bay as an event to look forward to in the months ahead.”

Festival goers are also enthusiastic, with the majority of those who bought tickets before the cyclone opting to retain them for the new date.

The inaugural event will take place in a spectacular riverside location, nestled beneath Te Mata Peak in the Tukituki Valley. With tickets strictly limited to 2,000, it will be an intimate event for foodies and wine lovers looking for a special way to celebrate the resilience of Food and Wine Country on the last weekend before summer officially arrives in the Bay.

The line-up of wineries for Harvest Hawke’s Bay 2023 includes Black Barn Wines, Maison Noire, Paritua Wines, Crab Farm Winery, Tony Bish Wines, Petane Wines, Oak Estate, Trinity Hill, Sileni, Askerne, Smith & Sheth, Collaboration Wines, Te Mata Estate, Te Awanga, Linden Estate and Craggy Range.

These great wines will be supported by equally fabulous food from Black Barn Bistro, Central Fire Station, Oak Estate Kitchen, Valley d’Vine, Op’s Kitchen, Black Betty BBQ, Hunger Monger, Cellar 495 and Long Island Deli.

Live music, from three outstanding Hawke’s Bay bands, will run throughout the afternoon, and regional shuttle services will connect Havelock North, Hastings and Napier to the event.

Alternatively, festival goers can take advantage of the free self-contained motorhome or car parking adjacent to the festival site. Or for those wanting to incorporate some exercise into the day the site is conveniently located just off one of the many local cycleways!

“It’s been a tough year, but we promise we’ll be putting a big smile on the faces of our festival goers,” says exhibitor Tony Bish.“The crew at Tony Bish Wines and The Urban Winery can’t wait to bring our delicious Chardonnays to pair with Hunger Monger’s amazing seafood offerings at Harvest Hawke’s Bay in November!”

Sally Duncan, Chair of Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers, says the organisation is excited about the inaugural Festival and the opportunity it provides to showcase the region’s fantastic wine producers.
“We see this event as an amazing way to celebrate and support our wine community and we hope to see you there!”With tickets limited, organisers are encouraging food and wine lovers to secure their spot at the festival as soon as possible."

"This will be a fabulous event for all sorts of reasons, most importantly however, because it’s a chance to show your support for the wonderful Hawke’s Bay food and wine industries. Give yourself, your friends, and our wonderful producers, something to look forward to in November by booking your tickets today.” says Liz.

Tickets are available from Eventfinda

Over the coming months, the organisers of Harvest Hawke’s Bay are committed to putting together a series of initiatives to support the cyclone recovery efforts for the local food and wine industries, along with the festival’s exhibitors. Details of these initiatives will be confirmed soon.

Press Release: Dated March 1 2023

New Spring Date For Harvest Hawke’s Bay Festival

‍With Hawke’s Bay remaining under a State of Emergency following Cyclone Gabrielle, the organisers of Harvest Hawke’s Bay have made the tough decision to reschedule the event from April 1 to Saturday November 25 this year.

“We have considered all options over the past few days. Ticketholders, exhibitors and stakeholders have all been looking forward to the event so postponing it until spring was a very difficult decision to make,” says Harvest Hawke’s Bay event manager Liz Pollock.

“We are sincerely sorry for any inconvenience the change of date may cause, but at the end of the day, we couldn’t go ahead until Hawke’s Bay had a chance to begin its recovery from the recent devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.”

This is the first year of what will be an annual event, celebrating and supporting the bounty that Hawke’s Bay Food and Wine Country has to offer.

Set in a spectacular riverside location nestled beneath Te Mata Peak in the Tukituki Valley, Harvest Hawke’s Bay will feature many of the region’s leading wineries and food producers, along with live music from local bands.

“With so many locals still dealing with the aftermath of the cyclone, road access into the region limited, and accommodation options stretched, we felt it was not an ideal time to host the event. However, Hawke’s Bay remains a premium wine and food destination and we can’t wait to celebrate these sectors once more,” Liz says.

“By November we expect Hawke’s Bay to be well on the road to recovery, and excited to welcome visitors from other regions with open arms.”

In the meantime, the event’s organisers are committed to doing whatever they can in the short term to support those food and wine businesses badly affected by the cyclone.

Over the next few days, Eventfinda will contact ticketholders to notify them of their options, which will include a refund on their tickets or to hold them over until the new date.

ENDS

For further information please contact

LIZ POLLOCK
EVENT MANAGER, HARVEST HAWKE’S BAY 2023

E: liz@harvesthaweksbay.com
P: 027 4774717
www.harvesthawkesbay.com
instagram.com/harvest_hawkesbay_festival
facebook.com/harvesthawkesbay

Refunds: For those who have already bought tickets, Eventfinda will contact you shortly to notify you of your options, which will include rolling your existing ticket over to November 25th or arranging a refund if you are not able to join us on the new date. Likewise for those that have booked regional shuttles Tranzit NZ will be contacting you with the same.For those who have purchased a ticket and cannot make the new date Eventfinda will be accepting refunds until the 15th March. Ticketholders will be contacted directly with instructions on how to proceed.