Top Energy chief executive Russell Shaw with YES Northland Company of the Year winner Santana Hobson. Photo / Darren Jurgens
Santana Hobson inspired judges with her business creation, becoming Top Energy YES Northland Company of the Year for The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme.
Hobson, a 19-year-old student of Kaikohe's Hiwa i Te Rangi (Northland College School for Young Parents), created Peepi Packs, handmade baby gift bags for new mothers.
To win the regional title, Hobson, with her Peepi Packs completed a variety of business milestones during the year culminating in pitching the business to a panel of judges at the Copthorne Hotel in Waitangi.
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The judging panel included Pete Gregory and Jules Smith of Vinery Ltd from Whangārei, Geraldine "Chook" Henare of Mediaworks, Charlotte Rowe of Bluefix Boatworks, Ervin Mehta of Morgan Campbell and Richard Gorrett of Crimson Education, along with Terry Shubkin, chief executive at Young Enterprise.
Hobson will head to Wellington on December 4 to vie for the title of The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme Company of the Year in the national final.
Twenty-one regional champions from across New Zealand will compete at the final and attend the awards dinner at TSB Arena the same day.
Hobson said she is keen to further develop her business idea.
"I want to carry on building this company and make it grow. For the first year I will continue to make the items myself but hopefully in the future the business will grow so that it doesn't just support me and my whānau but other people in the community."
Twenty-year-old Alisha Pai from Kerikeri, also a Hiwa i Te Rangi student, was also thrilled when she won the National Excellence Award for her Eco-Kits Māori themed baby book.
The other National Excellence Award winners were Mud Tech of Kaitaia Abundant Life School and Kaitaia College.
More than 4000 students have taken part in The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme this year, creating more than 1000 real-life businesses.
The one-year programme gives students an authentic learning experience which connects them with their community.
Live music, cooking demonstrations, a great selection of Northland craft beer and wine and local produce will be on offer at the Tastes of the North Garden Party on November 30.
Auckland band Coachella will also play at the event, which is in its third year, and there will be lawn games on the front lawn of the Copthorne Hotel and Resort Bay of Islands from 11am-6pm.
Far North celebrity chef Anna Valentine will be cooking up a storm with her healthy food demonstrations too.
The creator of the first commercial kumara chips has produced beautiful seasonal cookbooks and runs the popular Veggie Tree cooking school from her home in Kaeo.
Tickets from eventfinda.co.nz
Sovrano Limoncello celebrated its 10th anniversary with two gold medals from the prestigious Tasting Institute in the USA.
The Kerikeri company won gold for their classic limoncello and the limoncello cream, and a Sovrano orangello cream won a silver medal.
Owner Andrea Loggia said they were delighted with the wins.
The awards join the healthy list of other awards from internationally recognised tasting competitions in Chicago, San Francisco, London and Florida over the past 10 years.
Andrea and Marzia Loggia started Sovrano Limoncello back in March 2009 from a garage at home in Skudder's Beach, where they produced only the limoncello and cream limoncello.
Now the company offers 10 different varieties of the esteemed liqueur – two orangellos, coffee, walnut, vodka, chocolate, liquorice limoncello and a seasonal rose.
They have moved operations to a larger factory space in Waipapa from where the 10 varieties are produced, bottled, labelled and distributed nationwide and internationally.
Grab a hat, some sunscreen and a pocket of cash and mosey on down to the Waimate North Showgrounds for some fun and food this Saturday.
The Bay of Islands Pastoral and Industrial Show boasts a cracking day of entertainment with loads of stalls, equestrian and livestock events, sheepdog trials, demonstrations and live music.
The Savouring the Source food and wine festival will be located on the showgrounds and includes great local food, a covered stage for cooking demonstrations and competitions.
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga will feature two displays, including World War II in Northland – the Untold Story presented by volunteer researchers Jack Kemp and Dr Bill Guthrie.
Kemp and Guthrie are a wealth of information about the extensive defence network of coast watching stations, radar stations, mine control posts, military camps and other military infrastructure which was rapidly developed in Northland in 1942-43.
The second display called Tell Us A Story invites people to share information, anecdotes, photos and other research treasure from people who may have memories of Heritage New Zealand's Northland properties.
"We'd love to catch up with anyone who may have photos, paintings or sketches relating to the sites," Te Waimate Mission property lead, Alex Bell said.
"They may not include the buildings in them, but might include information about the grounds, gardens and even things like wallpaper. We can use that information to help inform some of the future development we do on the properties, and to help us better understand what period some of the elements of the house might relate to."
Gates open to the public at 8am. Tickets cost $10 for those aged 13 years plus, and the under 12s are free.
Head along to the Turner Centre to give the priceless gift of blood later this month.
The New Zealand Blood Service's blood drive is on November 25 from 1pm-6pm and on November 26 from 9am-3pm.
Giving blood is a lifesaver - even the best trained medical personnel, using the most advanced equipment can become helpless in the event a patient needs blood.
Yet figures show that less than 4 per cent of all possible donors in New Zealand actually roll their sleeves up and give each year.
To book an appointment email nzblood.co.nz or phone 0800 448 325.
Aroha Music Society will close the 2019 season with a performance by the Tres Cordes Piano Trio on November 16.
Tomas Hurnik, Cathy Irons and Anna Maksymova will play Beethoven's Gassenhauer Trio, two Argentinian tango compositions from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires by Astor Piazzolla along with two movements from Resphigi's six pieces for violin and piano, and a few other treats.
The show, presented by the Aroha Music Society, starts at 7pm at the Turner Centre's Theatre Bar.
Tres Cordes has been performing together since 2007 and their passion for chamber music has been shared with audiences around New Zealand.
The programme has been prepared by Mike Burch.
Visit turnercentre.co.nz or phone 09 407 0260.
One of New Zealand's major ceramicists will exhibit installations and hand-thrown shapes and vessels in an exhibition at Village Arts Gallery n Kohukohu.
John Parker is known for his ribbed, modernist ceramic pieces that result in sell-out shows throughout New Zealand.
He is equally known as an award-winning theatre designer.
In his exhibition Colour Explosion, which runs until November 26, he draws on the drama of his stage work to make startling light-responsive ceramic installations, with lighting designed by John Wigglesworth.
Exhibiting alongside Parker is Jane Molloy-Wolt. One of the most productive and experimental professional painters in Northland, Molloy-Wolt's bold works explore themes of unstable geography and suspended belief.
• If you have an upcoming event or a snippet of news you'd like to share, email jenny.ling@nzme.co.nz along with your contact details.
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