Go get yourself a big thick permanent marker and put this date in your diary right now: Thursday December 17 will be the Fourth (The) Annual Wellingtonista Awards. Yes, that’s right, it’s TAWA TIME! As is tradition, the awards will be at the lovely Mighty Mighty, and there will be all kinds of other goodness on the night that we have yet to announce. For now though, it is safe to say that we recommend taking the Friday afterwards off.
And what would the awards be without nominations? We want you to suggest who you would like to be nominated in each of the categories. This is where I break out the bold tags. This is your only chance to say who should be nominated. By the time we open up voting, it will be too late. Leave us your comments and suggestions now. Suggestions for nominations will be open until November 1, then we will take your ideas under advisement, and come out with our final lists. Voting will open in early November.
Categories for this year are after the jump.
We all had a completely brilliant time on Thursday night at the TAWAs!
It was great to see so many of y’all along there, along with the awesome nominees and a few celebrity guests (not that Wellington has any actual celebrities, but, you know…)
Thanks to our fabulous sponsors who gave us swag and prizes
And thanks also to Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson for presenting the Wellingtonian of the Year award, which went to Callum Brown of Green Cabs.
After the awards, we relaxed to the lazy sounds of The Lonesome Cowboy, and then danced up a storm to Bunnies on Ponies, who ended their set with a v. swingorilliant cover of Dire Straits ‘Sultans of Swing’.
It was a super evening, and now that our Friday post-TAWAs fug has worn off, we’re looking forward to the 2009 TAWAs.
All that remains now is to celebrate this year’s winners. We encourage you to support these business and places (in fact, all the nominees are awesome), as they’re all part of why Wellington is such an excellent town.
We will be updating with you with the news of the winner in each category tomorrow but we’d just like to say for now that according voters Callum Of Green Cabs is your Wellingtonista Wellingtonian of the year.
Go Callum and Go Green Cabs!
Thank you for being the enviromentally friendly people’s transport of Wellington.
[Update: As Brett helpfully points out in the comments, if you can’t wait for the ‘official’ results to be published, head over to Twitter where the winners were broadcast in real-time].
So tonight we’re going to party like it’s 2008 at The Annual Wellingtonista Awards (come along from 6pm, presentations kick off around 7.30), but before we have too many of the Wellingtonista Cocktails that Mighty Mighty have designed for us, we want to take a minute or two to give much respect to the delightful lovely people who’re helping us to make such a great event with their donations of swag and spot prizes. In alphabetical order, mad props go out to:
Adidas New Zealand: You know who else is from Wellington? The Hurricanes. And we know that because Adidas have given us a brand new 2009 Wellington Hurricanes Super 14 jersey with the new embossed print to give away to one lucky ticket holder.
Aimée McLeod: Aimee is a local potter who has made our fabulous trophy tiles that the winners will be receiving tonight. Her works are for sale in a whole bunch of places, she’s been exceeding generous and supportive with her time and materials, and just quietly, she’s also a pretty choice mum too.
The Back Bencher: The Back Bencher Pub is somewhat of a famous destination eatery across the road from the Beehive with its political-inspired puppetry, menu and broadcast show and the service isn’t half bad either. We’re happy to be giving away three vouchers so you too can dine there, but we must warn you – talk to your companion quietly if you’re a public servant, because the enemy is sure to be all around you.
To whet your appetite for tonight’s festivities down at Mighty Mighty, here’s some Bunnies on Ponies for you…
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch/v=fwc0TNWCAP8]
So, as you may be aware, we’re going to have one heck of a big party on December 18 when we announce the winners of our awards. We’re going to have spot prizes for people who’ve voted, and we’re also hoping to have swag bags. And this is where you come in. We’d like prizes to give away. We’d like stuff to fill the swag bags with. We especially like things if they’re related to Wellington, but if they’re awesome, it doesn’t really matter where it comes from.
Want to reach our audience of smart disposable-income-having consumers? Want to get promoted on our site at our most trafficky time of year? Want the eternal love of the Wellingtonista?
Get in touch with me – johubris@gmail.com.
Soon we’re going to start publishing lists of our nominees for the AWAs (this year, it’s the TAWAs because it’s the Third Annual). Always after we do this, we have people go "oh but you should have nominated blah blah and this and that", so let us remind you again: if you want something to be nominated, you need to tell us. Do it now, or forever hold your peace or piece – at least until you get to vote, of course.
So by now, you’ve voted (you have right? Voting closes today!) and picked out what you’re going to wear to the awards (and if you wear a magenta dress too, I might just have to cut you), so have you settled upon your public transport options as to how you’re going to get home afterwards? If you’re going to be drinking, you of course can’t drive. And we’re not recommending you leave before midnight, so that means the buses are out. Unless you’re planning on walking (which we advise you to do in pairs, naturally), you’re probably going to get a taxi. How about you try out a Green Cab? Their all-Prius fleet and commitment to planting trees to offset their carbon, along with their “‘ethics first business second” mantra sits happily with the dirty lefty hippies of the Wellingtonista. Plus, their cabs stand out, so if you take one home in a less than awake state, you’ll know who to call in the morning if you leave something in the cab, and their police-checked drivers should mean you’ll get safely home.
Disclaimer: I’ve never actually riden in a Green Cab. Yet. But I like the idea. And they have a free number to call – 0508 4 47336 (0508 4 GREEN), which is great for those who are creditly challenged!
It’s not easy to keep your balance on a trolley bus if you are wearing vertiginous high heels or are weighed down with shopping. It can feel like surfing rather than just riding the bus. But spare a thought for those whose seatlessness is more than just an inconvenience. In recent months, this Wellingtonista has noticed her protruding baby bump doesn’t get her a coveted seat on a packed peak hour bus. I can be standing with my bump right in some civil servant’s face and he won’t budge. And just this morning, I watched embarrassed at myself and my fellow Wellingtonians, as a woman with Parkinson’s struggled to hang onto a pole as our bus swept down Brooklyn Hill packed to the gunnels with people looking the other way. Have Wellingtonians lost their benevolence for their fellow man – all for the price of a seat on the bus? Surely the people of my beloved city are better than that? Surely?
How do trolley buses get their poles to go right or left when they come to a junction?