Media Release 9 May, 2011

Spectacular new name for 2011 Taranaki Rhododendron & Garden Festival

Taranaki’s Rhododendron & Garden Festival, one of New Zealand’s longest running garden Festivals, is undergoing a name change to the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular.
– New Zealand’s Premier Spring Festival.

Now in its 24th year, the Festival was originally established in celebration of the prolific range of Rhododendrons that come into blossom during Spring right around Taranaki.

The name change reflects the diversity and high calibre of the approximately 50 public and private gardens in the Festival including rose gardens, inner city potager gardens, native flora gardens, historic and park-like gardens, English cottage and country gardens and those with an art and sculpture focus.

In a Taranaki-wide competition to create a new name for the Festival, nearly 100 name suggestions were submitted including variations on a strapline. The Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular – with the strapline, New Zealand’s Premier Spring Festival – was inspired by the submission by Sue Wood of New Plymouth and was selected from a short list of 10, says Taranaki Arts Festival Trust chief executive, Suzanne Porter.

“After receiving a great public response to our competition we now have a new name to match our new naming rights sponsor, Powerco” says Ms. Porter.

“ ‘The Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular – New Zealand’s Premier Spring Festival’, will provide us opportunities to further promote the festival both in New Zealand and overseas as one of New Zealand’s premiere garden festivals attracting visitors from all over the country and the world.”

Promoted to Australian audiences via the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show and Australian media, as well as right around New Zealand, the 2010 Festival attracted approximately 52,000 garden visits during the 10-day Festival.

A visitor survey revealed that 47%, almost half of all respondents, were making their first visit to the festival compared to 38% and 36% in the previous two years.

The survey also showed the Festival received an overall satisfaction rating of 99% from visitors saying the festival was excellent, very good or good which compared favourably to last year’s visitor survey, says Ms. Porter.

“With only Taranaki’s best private and public gardens selected for the Festival, the high satisfaction levels and garden visit numbers are due to the Festival’s continued positioning as a premiere New Zealand garden event,” says Ms. Porter.

“The 2011 Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular will enable visitors to enjoy a cross-section of gardens from coastal sub-tropical to sub alpine environments. Including Gardens of National as well as International Significance – few other festivals can offer such a diverse range of spectacular gardens.”

A special feature of the Festival each year is a unique Landscape Design Project with funding from the TSB Community Trust. With a different designer chosen each year, the 2010 project was the largest living wall of plants ever created in New Zealand. Known as a “vertical garden”, the lush tapestry of plants created by Tracey Peryman transformed the outside of the Taranaki Arts Festival office in New Plymouth into a living garden. Watch out for this years’ project.

Running from October 28 to November 6 this year, the Powerco Taranaki Garden Spectacular will also feature the popular jazz & wine in garden parties, guided walks, garden workshops and celebrated guest speakers. New Zealand’s Premier Spring Festival is not to be missed!

As an inspiration for the new Festival name, Sue Wood of New Plymouth won a $2000 design and plant package from Tristan Cave Landscapes, two night’s luxury accommodation for two at the Nice Hotel, a year’s subscription to Weekend Gardener, 10 Festival garden entry tickets, and two Festival Jazz & Wine event tickets.

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