Fruitbowl - Fresh Ideas from Hawke's Bay

The final event of the Black Summer Series went off on Sunday with thankfully no rain. Events in the BB amphitheater are one of my favorite things to do in the Bay.  Sundays event was Ladi 6, Little Bushman and Fat Freddys Drop.  It was such a fun afternoon with plenty of crowd antics to watch as things heated up. Ladi 6 warmed up the crowd nicely. No Seek no more though. Julien Dyne was ...Read more

Birthday cakes are a big tradition at our place.  This year was the turn of the lady of the house … Prior cakes include the IRB and airplane ...Read more

It’s great to see Harvest HB have a new home nestled within Gimblett Gravels. The venue has a huge amount of potential and it was great to oncve again be able to wander around all the winery stalls and taste their wares. The view from the old dump site is stunning with views back out of Hastings and out to Te Mata Peak. The event organisers should be proud of what they’ve achieved as ...Read more

When we planned Accelerate 2010 there was going to be a second Dave Dobbyn, Tim Finn and Bic Runga concert on that night at Black Barn. Unfortunately circumstances changed so Odette and I found ourselves in the concert promotion business. So rather than having to hear “Loyal” again we have an even better event happening with Katchafire in the Black Barn underground cellar on ...Read more

Airnet staff enjoyed a perfect evening out last night for our Xmas do. The recent forging of a partnership between Sileni Estate and Orton Catering has proven to be an absolute winner!   Thanks Sam, Nick and the team! If you are looking for a function venue I’m sure everyone at Airnet would agree this has to be at the top of your ...Read more

It’s always interesting to me when things in the IT industry cross over into the mainstream. I was riding up the peak tonight with my old school buddy Bruce from Aurum Coffee who is in the final stages of getting a website makeover.  We were chatting about Twitter (actually I was breathing so hard I was just trying to keep him talking) but I did manage to get out that maybe Twitter might ...Read more

The Air New Zealand Wine Awards for 2009 are out with Hawkes Bay featuring well in the Syrah category especially. You can check out the results here: Air New Zealand Wine Awards ...Read more

So who will it be? The winners of the HB Signature Dish will be announced next Tuesday. This is another great local concept to celebrate local restaurants, using local ingredients. We had one at the Deli in the village last week and it was great to have something that you don’t eat every day (rabbit!). The winners are voted by us – diners at restaurants. Has anyone had a signature ...Read more

There are some fun groups of people emerging in the Bay. It’s not just the IT Geeks … ‘Girls with spark’ this is the way Diana describes the mix of women who now make up the newly formed Hawke’s Bay supper club. Take a group of vivacious, entertaining women and mix with the plethora of eating establishments in Hawke’s Bay and what do you have – the Hawke’s Bay ...Read more

One of my favourite things to do in the Bay is the Farmers Market at Tomoana show grounds on Sunday mornings. I often take the kids down so the lady of the house gets a sleep in. Feels so good being out in the sun while  scoring big time home points. It’s compulsory to hit the market when you have out of towners staying. We have a pretty regular routine.  A ritual coffee and ...Read more