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Other | Pressroom

Teddy Bear's Picnic sure of big surprise at Gatsby event

Tents filled with teddy bears, fairies and butterflies lined Emerson St and the lawn yesterday as the 2017 Gatsby Picnic lived up to expectations. Despite rain affecting numbers, people from around the North Island still flocked to Napier to set up their picnic spots in hope of having the most elegant gazebo. Napier pair Sarah de Vos and Cate Alizzi were one of those vying for the title and just hours later were crowned the winners for their Teddy Bear's Picnic themed tent. Ms de Vos said they came up with the theme when they found out the lyrics for the Teddy Bear's Picnic were created in 1932. "We already had lots of teddy bears scattered around our houses with eight children between us and I have been collecting vintage items for about 20 years so it seemed like it would work well."
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Ten Guitars kicks off the Art Deco weekend

Three guys from Flaxmere with white tee-shirts and their name printed on the back stole the show in an all-to-brief Art Deco debut as Napier's 29th flamboyant annual celebration of it's 1930s architectural heritage kicked-in last night. The trio from Project Prima Volta needed just three numbers to transform their stardom from festival opera Carmen to the smaller stage of the Art Deco Festival's Sileni Estate Opening Soiree - a wee set opened in the MTG foyer with Engelbert Humperdinck's 1960s-era Ten Guitars. There was no sign of any garters being flung, but L.J.Crichton, Emmanuel Fuimaono and Jordan Fuimaono were still taken aback to near speechlessness by the spontaneous applause, and the approach of a newfound fan moments later with the modern-day Bravo. "It was awesome," she said. About 150 had gathered in the foyer for the weekend opening by Mayor of Napier Bill Dalton, as the crowd grew outside in the streets closed to vehicular traffic, apart from the steam traction engine, and the growing fleet of vintage cars, pride of place to a 1948 Pontiac Toledo bought from the US by new owner Bert Dove, from Bay of Plenty.
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Dilmah dazzles in third year at Art Deco Festival

Under a picturesque marquee, people sipped on tea cocktails, and indulged in macaroons to celebrate the third year of Dilmah tea at the Tremains Art Deco Festival. Since 2015 Dilmah founder Merrill J. Fernando has been returning to Napier for the festival, to engage with the public and share the ethical mission of his product. The festival's international ambassador said while he had never heard of Art Deco before initially being invited, Mr Fernando said he now "enjoyed this event very much". "They are getting more and more people here. I'm amazed at the way people treat me and talk to me, they treat me as a long-lost friend," the Sri Lankan native said. In previous years, Mr Fernando has been joined in Napier by his son Dilhan and Malik - the renowned tea brand was named using the first syllables of their names.
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Friday talks to Dilmah's founder Merrill Fernando

For Merrill J Fernando, founder of tea company Dilmah, age is just a number. This 86-year-old is still growing, innovating and fighting pessimism, he tells Mrinal Shekar. Merrill J Fernando is tall - towering in fact. I had expected the 86-year-old to be stooping, frail even, but when I walked into Dilmah's recently launched tea lounge in Ibn Battuta Mall and saw Merrill unfold his 1.8m (5ft 11in( frame out of the sofa, coming to stand absolutely upright in front of me, I suddenly felt short, and all the more small for my assumption. The handshake was firm, the gait sharp and there was no visible slouch - a stalwart who looks the part. He even has a full head of hair, I note as Merrill takes his seat after ensuring I was comfortable. 'It's Ceylon Supreme, a black tea from Craighead Estate. One of my favourites,' he says as he catches me staring at the steaming cup in front of him. Is that the secret to his youthful appearance, I ask, before assumption raises its ugly head again. 'That and the fact that my mother raised me well. She taught me to care for the community and share with the poor.
I firmly believe there is a certain joy in giving and that pure joy, I think, is the secret to my health,' explains Merrill. But you cannot ignore the fact that this philanthropist helms a tea company that has an annual turnover of $800 million (Dh2.9 billion(, which proves that he is a successful businessman too.
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MERRILL J. FERNANDO, DILMAH TEA – A SRI LANKAN TEA HERO

He is the founder of one of the 10th largest specialty tea brands in the world and hotelier with several resorts and growing, the epitome of a man born to wealth and privilege, with all the advantages and connections. No, the story of Merril J. Fernando is not about a man born into wealth, privilege or connections, but the story of a man with a dream, good motives, a love of tea and his country, and the intense passion to share the wealth with his workers and countrymen.