The best minds on the social scene are dreaming up creative ways to keep the fun times rolling as the party scene grinds to a halt.
Home delivery of cocktails, digital dating, Netflix parties and even gym class in your own lounge are all ideas being mooted to keep people connected amid precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
My Food Bag has created immune-boosting meal kits with non-contact delivery. They are also trialling a seven-day meal kit, including breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack meals. The guinea pig is 29-year-old Aziz Al-Sa'afin from Three's weekday morning programme, The AM Show. He is in isolation after returning from international travel on Monday.
Aziz Al-Sa'afin Supplied to Spy March 2020
Caterers such as the Great Catering Company are moving away from large-scale catering and adapting their offerings to suit at-home dining for smaller groups, delivered to their door.
And for your drinks needs, the Cocktail Collective is delivering bartender quality premium cocktails to your door with a selection fit for the best cocktail bar in town.
In need of a workout? Gym-goers at F45 and Les Mills are being offered training at home through online forums. And if after all that food, drink and gym work you need some company, digital dating without hook-ups is the new normal. Bumble is helping people stay connected, promoting video chats.
For those still determined to go out, restaurants including Euro, Soul Bar and SPQR sent out emails this week assuring customers of the extra steps they are taking to maximise hygiene. Many of them adhering to the governments new limit of 100 people at indoor events and reducing table numbers to increase social distancing. Soul is also among fine dining restaurants testing a home delivery service. Barulho in Parnell are making their whole menu available in frozen meals, so you can stock up for the whole week.
PR firm Hustle and Bustle has cancelled all events over the next three months - but is testing ways to stay connected. One event for 20 people at a restaurant has been canned but the new plant-based product from Meatless Farms will instead be sent to diners in a meal kit designed by the chef to be created at home.
"We are working on digital brand experiences accompanied by delivery services for consumers to connect with the brand, products and services at home. Think at-home fitness experiences, wine-tasting experiences led by a sommelier, and hair tutorials," Hustle and Bustle co-founder Gemma Ross tells Spy.
Opening of Seed Heritage, Ponsonby Road. Best Dressed. Gemma Ross wearing Seed . March 31st 2015. Herald on Sunday. Photographed by Norrie Montgomery.
Pead PR is keeping up the cheer suggesting experiential webinars. They also suggest Netflix Parties with a Google Chrome extension for long-distance viewing with friends. For their clients, they are going digital; adapting to in-home and virtual activations.
Some festivals, like Miami's Ultra Music Festival and Defected Records are hosting live virtual concerts via Facebook Live and YouTube. Deborah Pead, who scaled down her special birthday celebrations this week, also suggests small private concerts for 20 with our best local talent as a great morale booster.
Deborah Pead from Pead PR. Photographed for Canvas. 6 March 2016 New Zealand Herald Photograph by Greg Bowker
Hours before the new border restrictions were announced, the Lexus Urban Polo at the Auckland Domain saw fashion designer Karen Walker leading the way in distancing, with only an elbow bump by way of greeting. Fellow Lexus ambassador Colin Mathura-Jeffree led the air-kissing from a distance.
Lexus Urban Polo at Auckland Domain. L to R. Colin Mathura Jeffree and Karen Walker. Saturday 14th March 2020. Herald on Sunday. Photograph by Norrie Montgomery.
The annual Diner en Blanc, scheduled for last night, has been postponed until November. Instead, guests are encouraged to have their own small dinner parties in white - and post selfies.
Meanwhile, the Facebook group AA(e)-C(19)C – Aotearoa Arts and Events during the Covid-19 Crisis - has been set up for the local arts community and is a fantastic way to keep abreast of happenings in that world.
