Community
Tickets to a gala dinner set to benefit the Southland Charity Hospital have sold out – just a handful of hours after going on sale.
The Aftermatch will be held at spectacular Bill’s Shed venue at Bill Richardson Transport World on October 17. The evening promises to blend lots of laughs, plenty of entertainment, fantastic food, and great company – all in the name of an incredible cause.
Southland Charity Hospital board member Melissa Vining says she is incredulous that tables to the glamorous affair were snaffled up so quickly.
“I was watching the tables get snaffled up and thought I was imagining things. Every time we do something I am just overwhelmed at the support our community shows for the charity hospital – it honestly blows me away,” she says.
“We’re looking forward to a fantastic night, and we’re so humbled that so many other people are too.”
All of the standard tables at the event were sold out less than three hours after going on sale last night. The corporate ‘Pit Lane’ tables were sold out by this morning. The ‘Pit Lane’ tables will have a prime position inside the venue – housed in the largest private automotive museum of its type in the world – and will include personal table service from the TW Events & Incentives and Transport World teams.
The Aftermatch will be held after the Pack the Park rugby game, set to be played as the curtain-raiser to the Southland Stags v. Taranaki match at Rugby Park in Invercargill. The game is being held to thank the people of Southland and Otago for rallying behind the charity hospital’s cause. The game is also a way to pay tribute to the one year anniversary of the death of Blair Vining. The Winton man’s battle to ensure better cancer care for all New Zealanders after he was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer captivated the country and was the catalyst for both the formation of a national cancer care agency as well as the Southland Charity Hospital.
Organisers are remaining tight-lipped on who may take to the paddock during the game, but promise attendees at The Aftermatch will get to mingle with some rather marquee names.
Proceeds from The Aftermatch will go to the Southland Charity Hospital. Founded by the community, for the community, the Southland Charity Hospital will not receive any Government funding but will instead rely solely on the generosity of the public.