Snippets

 

Watermelon Month
National Watermelon Month is taking place for the first time in New Zealand, a month long celebration of one of the nation’s most popular summer fruits. Led by LeaderBrand, a Kiwi owned producer of fresh fruit and vegetables, a number of initiatives have been planned to help New Zealanders take part in the celebrations.

“We chose February for National Watermelon Month because it’s such a great time to use this iconic New Zealand summer fruit,” says Bevan Roach, LeaderBrand Marketing Manager. “Not only is it healthy and full of nutrients, such as vitamins A and C, it’s also very versatile, fantastic in salads, salsas, desserts, cocktails and all manner of other tasty summer recipes.”

New Zealanders will be encouraged to take part in National Watermelon Month through a series of contests and giveaways on Instagram and Facebook.

Variety seeks talent
Applications for Variety Gold Heart Scholarships are now open, providing funds to Kiwi kids to help them pursue their talent – regardless of disability, illness or financial disadvantage.

To apply for a Gold Heart Scholarship, young people should be proficient in their field and show passion and commitment to achieve a long-term aspirational goal.

The programme is open to young people up to the age of 18, making up to $5000 available for up to three years to help children who are physically or financially challenged to fulfil their dreams. This could include assisting with tuition fees, personal development, coaching, training equipment, travel or accommodation.

Applications close March 31, 2016. Visit variety.org.nz for details.

Roast lamb favourite
Kiwis have named the traditional Kiwi roast lamb dinner, with all the trimmings, as their favourite dish.

In a survey by Beef + Lamb NZ of over 1,000 respondents last month, roast lamb was ranked ahead of other Kiwi classics such as fish and chips and Shepherd’s pie.

Also, 42.4 percent of those surveyed selected lamb as their preferred meat over beef, pork and chicken.

National Lamb Day, February 15, marks the date in 1882 when William Davidson and Thomas Brydone achieved the remarkable, by launching the first shipment of frozen sheep meat from Port Chalmers in Otago on the Dunedin, bound for London.