The inaugural, and aptly named, Empower You event was held at the Gisborne Showgrounds Event Centre in early September and hosted over 200 attendees. The four-hour event was a mixture of workshops, panel discussions and guest speakers. Over 50 local, women-led stalls were also featured, ranging from start-ups to medium businesses.
Lisa, co-organiser and joint business owner of Kaiwhakangau, said: “At the beginning, we just aimed to pack out a small school hall, but after speaking with a group of business women we realised the potential and the real need for this event, so decided to go big.”
Kaiwhakangau offers outdoor enthusiasts, quality garments to enhance their activities and adventures. They have a desire to see Kiwis push pause on their busy device-ruled lives and to head outdoors and fall in love with Aotearoa once again — where people look after themselves, their whānau, their friends and our whenua (land); to be revitalised as well as preserve our land for future generations; healthy waters, healthy land, healthy people.
The event attracted a wide cross-section of women, some travelling from the East Coast and even Hawke’s Bay to attend.
“We focused on building an event that covered all elements of Te Whare Tapa Whā model — mental health, spiritual health, physical health and social wellbeing,” said Alice.
Co-owner of Kaiwhakangau, Tui Keenan, who emceed the event, said: “We wanted to provide a platform where women could come along and feel supported, uplifted and inspired. We wanted to create a place of goodness where women with heart in our community could connect and invest in their wellbeing and leave here feeling authentically empowered, which has the flow-on effect to their whānau at home.”
The day provided a blend of inspirational and practical workshops ranging from overcoming fear of technology, navigating midlife demands to cooking from scratch and butchering venison.
“My drive for organising this event was to get behind women to really believe in who they are and be confident in what they can do. For me it’s getting hands on with hunting for kai, but I know there are so many other women out there with different passions and this day was an opportunity to share them in the hope of inspiring others,” said Lisa.
Toni Hoskin, one of the guest speakers and owner of Well by Design, spoke about defining “who you are, not who you aren’t — recognising strengths, identifying what you have to offer and the most effective way to do that. Strengths in action is what energises and connects us”.
For many of the attendees, this topic was one of the highlights from the day.
Another noted highlight was the Dress Yourself with Confidence workshop hosted by Marie Cramp from Colour Me Beautiful Gisborne. A qualified style and colour consultant, she walked attendees through how she finds the 48 colours that make you look and feel your best. The workshop was so popular organisers decided to run it twice on the day, along with a Japanese Paper-craft workshop hosted by No Boundary.
A ‘grazing lunch table’ was provided with a variety of nourishing kai and delectable sweet treats provided by Gem Cuisine.
The sweet sound of Samantha Booth’s soulful voice provided entertainment during the lunch break, which also gave the attendees a chance to connect and network with each other and browse around the various stalls of products and services. There was even an impromptu lesson by some of the members from the Rhythm n’ Lines line dancing club.
The sell-out event was one of connectivity, empowerment and a bringing together of wāhine to celebrate who they are.
Annie Meredith, a supporter and one of the panellists on a discussion forum held on the day, summed up the event by saying it was “an uplifting, positive and gentle energy of incredible women in Tairāwhiti doing great things — nice vibe, nice tribe”.
The feedback given by stallholders after the event included comments such as: “Being involved in something that was locally generated, positive and authentic felt amazing.”
“Loved the vibe — the networking opportunities, the people, the set-up of the space with tables in the middle and the overall aesthetic.”
All of the stall holders who gave feedback said they would attend again.
Reflecting on the event co-organiser Alice said: “Lisa and I were really stoked with the feedback from the day. It is really hard to create an event where you feel the buzz as soon as you walk in, but we felt we achieved it. Piecing the event together from idea to execution in two months was no easy task but I think we have laid the foundations for something that is really needed here in Gisborne.
“We thank the community for getting behind our idea as that is really the key to success for any new local events. To me, that is really what this event was all about — bringing people together and building a community that supports each other, especially our business community, which I know can feel really tough if you are trying to build a business on your own.
“We would be interested in hearing from those businesses or organisations who would like to sponsor or be a part of an event like this next year as we have made the decision to go ahead with Empower You 2.0.
“You can follow us for updates on the @askalicenewzealand or @kaiwhakangau.nz Facebook page.”
All proceeds from this event were donated to Kai Connect, a local food bank initiative run by Kaiwhakangau, providing organic venison to local families.
