Fortify Events NZ

03/09/2026

Throwback Thursday! Snow Machine // 9th - 14th Sept, 2025

This is a great big mainstream music festival that takes place just outside Queenstown. Global headliners, big name sponsors, VIP lounges, international audience, tapping into all the specialists and suppliers across the region. People love skiing and partying!

Last year I joined the Without Waste NZ crew, who have the waste contract to keep this staggering 3-day festival tidy and divert all the waste. And wow what an operation. Kate, Abel and the team sure know how to smash it. Must have been about 30 bin stations across the whole site, a dozen skip bins on rotation, smart signage, compostable leaf bowls, and of course a crew of legends to make the whole thing come together.

It was super interesting working the breathing underbelly of such a massive commercial festival. And it’s where I met my two spooky skellies! The boney brethren. The haunted homies. (only daytime photos as the missions were on at night!)

Great timing, as next week I’ll be hitting the road to go do it all again!! Off to Central Otago on Wednesday for another foray into the high production world class mud.

27/08/2026

Throwback Thursday! Port Chalmers Seafood Festival // 4th October 2025

Today’s stormy Dunedin weather reminded me of this one. The Seafood Fest committee reached out about wanting to do better with waste management at their biennial event. Once every two years.

So we whipped up a crew and a plan to deal with all the rubbish that comes out of their festival. Forty food vendors. Fully stocked bars. Fish waste. Local mainstay volunteer groups. A big step up for this intrepid waste crew. Luckily we had the previous waste results on hand.

In 2023 they had bins for recycling, glass, cardboard, and landfill. Total waste was 980kg, with 570kg going to landfill. Only 42% diversion rate!

In 2025 we brought bins for recycling, glass, cardboard, landfill, plus food/fish waste, compostable packaging, and aluminium. Total waste for us was 911kg, with 50kg going to landfill!

94% diversion rate!! Only possible with a dedicated crew of trash practitioners. Thank you so much. The 9 metre skip bin was more useful to tie down our marquee than it was as a landfill receptacle.

We were also joined by FillGood Cups to supply a reusable cup system. Introducing a friendly system to allow guests to make the smart choice with waste disposal.

Thanks again to Jo, Robb, Vicki, and the rest of the Seafood Fest crew for having us back in October!

If you want a report-flavoured bullet point summary of what we did for Port Chalmers Seafood Fest, then check it out below:

- Total event waste management. Establish systems and resourcing for four public bin stations, back-of-house washing and weighing stations.
- Correspondence with vendors to ensure smart and informed waste initiatives.
- Correspondence with event coordinators to integrate new waste mechanisms into the event.
- Coordination of waste volunteers in roles across the system.
- Implementation of cup library for hot drink stalls.
- Booking and supply of services and resources for event waste management.
- Waste auditing and reporting after the event.
- Pathways for 6 or more waste categories diverted from landfill.
- Facilitation of 3,500 plastic tumbler cups, provided by Wellington-based company, FillGood.

29/07/2026

Throwback Thursday! CRUCIBLE // 22nd - 24th May, 2026 ☀️

In my seven years of doing festivals, it’s clear it needs to be about the people. Every time. When the people are central to the design, then the heart is felt and path is clear.

Crucible was a chance to emerge the dreams and visions of not just myself, but of the legendary humans around me. So we rallied to throw this birthday party of mine.

And I gotta say, we forged a phenomenal lil weekend out at Waiora Scout Camp. It was so freaking beautiful seeing people come and turn their hand at what they do best. Transform a space into a fantasy wonderland. Create an experimental musical journey. Facilitate a community who wear their hearts on their sleeves

The fields and trees were masterfully decorated to make stunning panoramas. My gosh the jellyfish and all the mushrooms sent us to a whole new realm. The Troop Den space became a lush grove of warmth and delight. The Lotus Tent had the most jaw-dropping cauldron plume feature. The bridge held a beautiful pixel archway.

Music was just next level. A diverse journey hitting all ends of the genre spectrum. Bass, dubstep, jungle, halftime. Techno, psytrance, prog, darkpsy, hi-tech, slambient. More than half of the 40-hour lineup were producers. From all over the south. Dunedin, Queenstown, Invercargill, Christchurch, and beyond.

Some moments were scary, many were thrilling and awe-inspiring. Some felt completely natural, like we were born for this.

Everybody involved should be absolutely proud of themselves. In striving for a creative community experience, Crucible felt like a major success!

You could say this was the first outing. Hold a vision, try out a bunch of cool stuff, make it work. Then stop and reflect, see how it could be done better. We’re pretty keen for a next time! Time for some early conversations I think……

23/07/2026

Throwback Thursday! South Dunedin Street Festival // 14th March, 2026

Here’s another community event that started small and humble, and has slowly filled its boots each year since. The main street of South D is closed for a day, and gets filled with all the classic street fair offerings. 4 music stages for bands, dance groups and buskers, 100 vendors of traders, crafters, food trucks, hobby groups, cultural groups and more. Roaming performers, zero-waste, repair stations, games and attractions. A real everything event that has a go at all of it.

In 2024 they asked me to come and run the band stage. Blew it out the park. So good that they asked me to coordinate the whole festival in 2025 and 2026. Gained funding to pay a crew, then hired a crew, then led them through the sagas of vendor management, production, programmes, marketing, volunteer coordination, and funding applications, to name a few. We had some incredible crew members step in this year!

The Street Fest has matured rapidly in the past few years, so it's showing signs of being a landmark event in Dunedin’s calendar, while still holding on to a humble grassroots atmosphere. We do love creating systems and processes for quality of life.

Photos by Kea Photos and Martyn Buyck and myself

Poster design by Tuna Design

17/07/2026

Hi friends it would be great if you could give my business page a follow!

I started Fortify Events back in 2022 when I finished study. Been jumping from job to job so much that I left my own social media promo in the water! Now in this quiet winter period I've finally made the turnaround.

On this page you will see me plugging upcoming events I'm involved in. And putting myself out there for new events to work on! And opportunities to get involved, like paid work, volunteering, performances etc. Plus some throwback Thursdays to catch us up on all the exciting stuff I've been diving into recently.

Time to reflect and get the stories going for the next adventures 🦋

Welcome to my page! Here you can find out about upcoming events I’m working on, and opportunities to get involved!

If you have an event or a vision you’d like to bring to life, then get in touch! With 8 years of qualifications and experience with organising and leading events, your gathering will be in good hands, no doubt.

Message me on FB or Instagram, or send me an email: [email protected].

Below is a broad list of services I can offer! It could be a mix of these duties, or can just be one service. Let’s chat about what you need to fortify your event!

Event Planning Services:

- Event Management and Navigation
- Marketing and Promotion
- Bookings and Networking
- Budget and Finances
- Funding Applications
- Volunteer Coordination
- Ticketing and Entry
- Health & Safety
- Stages and Performances
- Vendors and Markets

Event Delivery Services:

- Ticketing and Entry
- Stage Management
- Site Management
- Waste Management
- Volunteer Management
- Vendor Management
- Safety and Security (COA holder)

17/07/2026

Welcome to my page! Here you can find out about upcoming events I’m working on, and opportunities to get involved!

If you have an event or a vision you’d like to bring to life, then get in touch! With 8 years of qualifications and experience with organising and leading events, your gathering will be in good hands, no doubt.

Message me on FB or Instagram, or send me an email: [email protected].

Below is a broad list of services I can offer! It could be a mix of these duties, or can just be one service. Let’s chat about what you need to fortify your event!

Event Planning Services:

- Event Management and Navigation
- Marketing and Promotion
- Bookings and Networking
- Budget and Finances
- Funding Applications
- Volunteer Coordination
- Ticketing and Entry
- Health & Safety
- Stages and Performances
- Vendors and Markets

Event Delivery Services:

- Ticketing and Entry
- Stage Management
- Site Management
- Waste Management
- Volunteer Management
- Vendor Management
- Safety and Security (COA holder)

16/07/2026

Throwback Thursday! Dunedin Midwinter Carnival 2026 // 12th + 13th June, 2026 ❄❄❄

This is a special annual celebration in the chilling heart of Ōtepoti Dunedin’s winter. 8,000 people come out across two nights and visit the First Church grounds, where a passionate motley crew have installed these huge beautiful lanterns in the trees, field, and inside the church for a real spectacle.

We set up stages and performances, invite food trucks, face painting, mulled wine, art and interactive features, plus rally for the big iconic lantern procession.

I’m lucky enough to be on the crew since 2023, helping plan and deliver the Carnival as Production Manager. So what do I actually get up to?

Well lots of bookings and invites are at the top of my to-do list - make bookings for contractors, suppliers, transport, services, and Night Market vendors. The role has a broad-sweep approach; picking up plenty random wee missions to get it all over the line. Plus recruiting our production crew to keep the wheels turning on the nights. And with all this traction, a real fun part is lining up all the pieces and arrivals in the right sequences. E.g. food trucks can’t arrive before the generator! Some great logic puzzles to be found in event production.

It’s a wonderful crew to work with at the Carnival! The passion and play is clear for all to see. Heaps of experience, both from Carnival tenure and turning our hand at many other festivals across the year.

Also I played the cowbell in the lantern processions this year. Yeah. The random musical cameos are just part and parcel now. Can’t wait for the 30th anniversary in 2027!

So hey I thought I’d do a catch-up every odd Thursday on recent events! The calendar has sure kept me busy up until this month. Let’s walk backwards in time, and reflect in between the great excursions

Photos by Martyn Buyck and Amanda Konjin

Poster design by Craig Birch-Morunga and Jakira Brophy