Hutt hospice battles for funds
A giant tyrannosaurus rex should help Te Omanga Hospice raise $2.5 million for its new building.
The dinosaur will be a star attraction at HighLight: Carnival of Lights in Lower Hutt at Labour Weekend.
Last year, the light-themed carnival attracted huge crowds. Hutt City Council event manager Carla Steed said this year it would be spread over a bigger site.
HighLight’s charity partner is Te Omanga Hospice, which is building a $10m facility in Woburn but is facing a $2.5m shortfall as the completion date for its new building draws near.
Steed said everyone attending would be encouraged to donate at least $1 to the hospice.
Businesses taking part are required to run fundraisers and Seaview-based scrap merchants Macaulay Metals and Real Steel have come up with an idea she felt would be a winner: a 6-metre-high, 12-metre-long tyrannosaurus rex, built from scrap, will be raffled after the carnival.
Steed is hoping the buyer will donate it back to Te Omanga to display in its garden.
Hospice chief executive Biddy Harford said raising $10m for a new building was always going to be challenging.
Expert fundraisers predicted the initial push would be the easiest. ‘‘It certainly feels like the handbrake has gone on now.’’
Raising $7.5m had taken a huge effort and fundraiser Kirsty Stratford said she understood why people were reluctant to keep giving. ‘‘People are probably just getting sick of seeing us everywhere holding a bucket.’’
The hospice helps about one in three Hutt Valley residents who die each year, with about 40 per cent coming from Upper Hutt.
This year’s HighLight theme is Wild Things. The carnival is split into five zones, each with light installations and performances.
Visitors can expect live performances, roaming entertainers and a feast of food trucks including Beat Kitchen, House of Dumplings, and The Dukes of Sandwich, as well as late-night hours at nearby cafes.
HighLight: Carnival of Lights, Labour Weekend, Riddiford Gardens.