Arrowtown’s long lunch provides for its community

Arrowtown Promotion and Business Association (APBA) has donated the profits made at Arrowtown’s Long Lunch to two worthy causes this week - Arrowtown Choppers and Lakes District Museum, reaping benefits for the local Arrowtown community.

The Long Lunch happens in December every year and involves taking over the main high street with long joined tables. The local restaurant community gets behind it by offering a special set course menu from their restaurants to ticket holders. The Long Lunch is always a sellout event, featuring on Queenstown’s social calendars since its inception 12 years ago, with 100% of its profits going back to various projects or initiatives, all that benefit the local community.

This year’s worthy recipients were Arrowtown Choppers who received $5K worth of important equipment to assist them with their extensive wilding pine clearing and native planting in Arrowtown, which included a couple of brush cutters and a chainsaw.  

“We have to rely on volunteers bringing their own equipment to clear huge areas of wilding pines to then plant thousands of native plantings, so to be able to have specialized equipment to be able to use is an incredible gift and very grateful to the Arrowtown community that supports the long lunch so organizations such as ours can benefit.”   Says Karl Walker, Arrowtown Choppers.

The remaining $6K went to the Lakes District Museum to assist with a new permanent display on “Cribbies” featuring NZ built holiday homes in the Wakatipu from 1950-1980. David Clarke, Director of the Museum, said: “This funding allows us to continue to be able to acknowledge the history of our region in this exciting new exhibition which forms part of the upgraded museum. We are hoping this will be open for mid 2022.”

APBA Manager, Nicky Busst, whose association has the rights to run the event annually, said: “The Long Lunch is an Arrowtown event for Arrowtown locals so this year we’ve decided that they should have a say in where the profits go. We’re excited to announce that we’re seeking expressions of interest for the profits of this year’s Long Lunch to go to an Arrowtown based community or volunteer group”.

Expressions of interest can be nominated by completing the form on the website. Nominations will remain open until 10am on Tuesday 10 August. The lucky recipients will be voted on at the AGM on Wed 11 August. Self-nominations will be accepted. 

For further information: 
Please contact Nicky Busst on info@arrowtown.com.