Kia ora and welcome!

With the 2024 Jassy Dean Garden Festival a mere three months away logistical detail and organisational frenzy are keeping committee members and garden owners well and truly busy.

Over the weekend of the 9th and 10th of November, ten fabulous gardens will open to the public for this much-loved bi-annual event. The gardens range from the large and spectacular to the small and exquisite. There is magic, drama and surprise, something for everyone in the mix.

Visit www.waihekegardenfestival.org.nz for a few close-up views, block out your calendars and get ready to purchase tickets which will be available from mid-August.

This is the Jassy Dean Trust’s major fund-raising event. Every penny raised is used to support local families who are facing the challenges and costs of children with health issues, accident, illness or disability. We have a growing number of families seeking assistance every year, and the need to constantly replenish the Jassy Dean coffers is ongoing.

We couldn’t do it without the support of local businesses who generously get behind this event and we are particularly grateful to this year’s MAJOR FESTIVAL SPONSORS…eRide Waiheke and Fullers 360.

Fullers 360 supports the work of the Jassy Dean Trust 365 days a year with invaluable added sponsorship always given at the time of the Garden Festival.

Thanks to eRide Waiheke, festival visitors can now enjoy a special package deal: a discounted electric bike day rental and garden entry for $129 (or $139 after September 30th). Please encourage people to take advantage, it’s a ‘get fit’, fun and environmentally friendly way to explore all our beautiful gardens and support our local children. An added incentive for those arriving by bike – a complimentary morning tea!  eRide Waiheke is donating the proceeds of all bike hire to the Jassy Dean Trust.

We are extremely grateful also to the contributions made by our SILVER SPONSORS, Allpress Olive Groves, Central Landscape Supplies, Ecozip Adventures NZ, Placemakers Waiheke, Waiheke Wine Tours and BRONZE SPONSOR Island Gelato. Thank you all.

If you know of a business that might like to get involved in our sponsorship program please get in touch with Festival Organiser, Jo Ewer at info@jassydeantrust.org

Other local businesses and organisations support the event in numerous practical ways. Thank you to GO Rentals, Gulf News, Greenacres Waiheke, Paperplus Waiheke, Sealink, Sign Maidens, Waiheke Aqua, Waiheke High School, Waiheke Real Estate, Waiheke Rotary and Woolworths. Your help is invaluable.

And of course, this event would not exist without our fabulous team of VOLUNTEERS.  Once again we’ve had a magnificent response to our call for help!  There’s still room for more. If you have a couple of spare hours over the weekend and would like to help, Jude Denny 021 024 8837 or Sally Ewer 021 441 031 are waiting by the phone.

Music and art will feature in some gardens with local band Sirens, musical duo Alex Ludbrook and Peter Reilley and piano accordionist Pauline Stewart all willingly donating their time and talent for the cause.

Waiheke artist, Tom Wilson, fresh from a stunning ‘sell-out’ first exhibition will have three new paintings on display in one garden and the very popular work of Zoe Leeb-du Toit will be for sale in another. Ewan Sutherland, who exhibited at the Red Shed Gallery over the weekend has offered to donate all proceeds from any sales, and we have an ‘ART STOP’ at Belinda Fabris’s wondrous fairy-tale studio with a handful of talented sculptors and painters work on view.

These artists are all generously supporting the Trust. We hope our guests will take the opportunity to enjoy the work and perhaps buy a special piece and contribute to a great local charity.

And of course, there are the CRAFT STALLS. Last year these proved hugely popular and the ‘elves’ have been busy all winter getting ready! Lots of hand-made treasures, mostly fashioned from re-cycled materials and the last copies of FOOD FROM JASSY’S GARDENS, on sale, just in time for Christmas.

We all know what a great weekend this can be. We need the numbers through the gates to make it work financially so please, everyone, encourage friends and family to get out for the weekend, especially the bikers amongst them! The gardens are gorgeous, the island is stunning and the cause is dear to all our hearts.

Until next time

Ngā mihi
Annie Porter & The Jassy Dean Trust.

If you want to donate to the Jassy Dean Trust there are many ways you can do this. Please visit our website here for more details on what might work for you.

Applying for support from the Jassy Dean Trust is easy and confidential. If you know someone that might qualify please direct them to the online application form at www.jassydeantrust.org/apply