Skip to content

Hospice Marlborough’s Festive Movie Magic Event Raises $4,346

(Marlborough, 18 December 2024)

Hospice Marlborough is delighted to announce that its inaugural Festive Movie Magic: Santa, Cinema, and Family Fun event, held on Sunday, 8 December, at Event Cinemas Blenheim, was a great success.

Thanks to the generous support of the community, the event raised an impressive $4,346, which will directly support the provision of compassionate, specialist palliative care for those facing life-limiting illnesses in Marlborough.

The day kicked off with a visit to the Hospice Christmas Festivity Zone in the cinema complex foyer, where families enjoyed a festive atmosphere, met Santa, took family photos, participated in the best-dressed competition, donated to the Tree of Remembrance, and enjoyed fun activities like face painting for the children.

A special mention goes to Matthew, Manager of Event Cinemas Blenheim, and his fantastic team for their crucial role in the event’s success. Their support in managing the venue, organising the movies, and creating a positive, festive atmosphere was invaluable. The team even got into the spirit of the season by dressing up for the occasion, adding to the joy and excitement of the day.

At 10:30am, families were treated to the magic of Christmas with a choice of three holiday movie classics (Home Alone, Polar Express or A Muppets Christmas Carole) or a new release (Red One). Tickets, priced at a special price of only $16 per person, gave families the chance to enjoy a movie together while supporting Hospice Marlborough. The films started at the same time and concluded around the same time, allowing families to reconnect afterward and share in the joy of the season.

In addition to the festive fun, there were some unexpected twists! When Santa’s reindeer, Comet and Vixen, decided to nibble on all the candy canes overnight, the Rapid Relief Team swooped in to save the day, providing jellybeans to Santa for the kids to enjoy. Farmlands Blenheim also came to the rescue with a great pair of Red Band gumboots for Santa when he arrived, after leaving his North Pole boots behind!

Thanks to the incredible work of Shan and Nathan from Balloon Creations Made with Love, who created a stunning balloon garland to beautifully set the scene, Santa’s Grotto looked incredible. A big thank you also to Carnmore Chateau Marlborough for providing the plush red armchair, ensuring Santa had the perfect seat after his own chair didn’t quite make it on the sleigh!

And what would a Santa grotto be without a festive Santa photo! These would not have been possible without the incredible talent of David James Photography. David generously donated his time and energy to take Santa photos and thanks to his contribution, 100% of all photo sales were donated back to Hospice Marlborough, giving event fundraising efforts a boost.

Hospice Marlborough has provided essential palliative care to close to 1,200 patients this past year. While some of the services are funded by Health New Zealand, the support of the local community through fundraising events like Festive Movie Magic is critical to bridging the funding shortfall. Every dollar raised helps ensure that Hospice Marlborough can continue providing free, compassionate care to those in need.

Special thanks go to the volunteers, event partners, and supporters who made this event possible:

Our valued Hospice Volunteers: Thank you to Vonnie, Yvonne, Elspeth, Barbara, Dianne, Cindy, Carol, and Robyn for their dedication and energy.

Event Partners:

 Event Supporters:

Hospice Marlborough also extends heartfelt thanks to Santa. With the North Pole in full swing and Christmas preparations in overdrive, we were thrilled that Santa could take a break from his busy workshop to join us at our Festive Movie Magic event. His jolly presence brought so much joy and delight to children and families alike, making the day truly magical.

Finally, congratulations to our competition winners:

  • Colouring Competition: Matty Molloy and Zoey Millar
  • Best Dressed Family: Heather Robson, Tiana, Kaia, Isabelle and Aurora
  • Ugliest Sweater: Sarah and Tyler McComb

We are incredibly grateful to the community for creating magical memories and celebrating the spirit of the season with us, whilst raising vital funds for Hospice Marlborough.  By attending, you ensure we can continue our work to help others during life’s most challenging moments, where every dollar raised will help ensure that Hospice Marlborough can continue to provide free palliative care to those who need it most.

Thank you for making this event a resounding success, for joining us in celebrating community, kindness, the joy of giving back and for being a part of our ongoing mission to provide compassionate palliative care across Marlborough.

Share this...

Celebrating 21 Years of Hospice Marlborough

Many Thanks to our National Supporters

Many Thanks to our Local Partners

Keep in touch

Link into our quarterly e-newsletter, designed to keep our community in the loop about what is happening at Hospice Marlborough and ways you can get involved!

Read our latest newsletter
Sign up for our e-newsletter

Your Voice

We would love to hear from you. You can now easily provide feedback either via email, phone, a face-to-face appointment or online.

Find out how

Community

Back To Top
Click to access the login or register cheese