The winners themselves have known for a couple of weeks, but the day has finally come — it’s time for us to publicly announce the Grand Prize winners of the 2023-24 Summer Reading Adventure!
Of course, everyone who took part is a winner in some way — whether you won badges, books, stationery, vouchers, or just the eternal respect and admiration of your peers, your fearless ventures into the Land of Literature have not gone unrewarded. In fact, during the Summer Reading Adventure, our librarians gave out 2,270 prizes to intrepid word explorers across our fair city.
Some of these prizes came along with another, hidden prize — the opportunity to put your name in the hat to win one of the Grand Prizes. There were 10 Grand Prizes up for grabs in total — four for kids, three for teens, and another three for adults. Our lucky prize-winners are listed below:
Kids
Grand Prize #1 – Into the Wild
Winner: Natalie, age 8, from St Benedict’s School and Tari-kākā | Khandallah Library
Prize description:
- 1x family pass to Staglands Wildlife Reserve and Cafe
- 1x family pass to Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne
- 1x family pass to Wellington Zoo
- Assorted locally-made goodies, including chocolate!
Grand Prize #2 – Science and Wonder
Winner: Michelle, age 6, from Wadestown School and Ōtari | Wadestown Library
Prize description:
- 1x family pass to the Wētā Cave Workshop Experience
- Activity books from Te Papa Press
- A NeoBear AR Globe
- Assorted locally-made goodies, including chocolate!
Grand Prize #3 – Ultimate Artistry
Winner: Alin, age 12, from St Catherine’s College and Ngā Puna Waiora | Newtown Library
Prize description:
- A selection of high-quality artistic stationery from Gordon Harris
- A NeoBear AR Globe
- Assorted locally-made goodies, including chocolate!
Grand Prize #4 – Books and More!
Winner: Abhirup, age 9, from Amesbury School and Waitohi | Johnsonville Library
Prize description:
- A Summer Reading book bundle from Gecko Press
- A voucher for Unity Books
- Assorted locally-made goodies, including chocolate!
Teens
Grand Prize #5 – Books, Books, Books!
Winner: Rebecca, age 15, from Wellington Girls’ College and Waitohi | Johnsonville Library
Prize description:
- A voucher for Unity Books
- A voucher for a VIP experience at Te Pātaka, the site of our Central Library collection
- Assorted locally-made goodies, including chocolate!
Grand Prize #6 – Artistic Endeavours
Winner: Penelope, age 13, from Waitohi | Johnsonville Library
Prize description:
- A voucher for Gordon Harris Fine Art Supplies
- A voucher for 3D printing and lasercutting services at Tūhura | The HIVE in Johnsonville
- Assorted locally-made goodies, including chocolate!
Grand Prize #7 – Games and More
Winner: TJ, age 15, from St Patrick’s College and Te Awa-a-Taia | Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library
Prize description:
- 20x tokens for experiences at Ye Olde Pinball Shoppe
- 1x family pass to the Wētā Cave Workshop Experience
- A voucher for Cerberus Games and a set of artisan gaming dice
- Assorted locally-made goodies, including chocolate!
Adults
Grand Prize #8 – Books and Blockbusters
Winner: Doreen from Te Awa-a-Taia | Ruth Gotlieb (Kilbirnie) Library
Prize description:
- A voucher for Unity Books
- Double pass to Light House Cinema movie screening
- A voucher for a VIP experience at Te Pātaka, the site of our Central Library collection
- Assorted locally-made goodies, including chocolate!
Grand Prize #9 – Cultural Capital
Winner: Alex from Waitohi | Johnsonville Library
Prize description:
- Double pass to a show at Circa Theatre
- Double pass to a show presented by the Wellington Footlights Society
- Assorted locally-made goodies, including chocolate!
Grand Prize #10 – Sonic Wonderland
Winner: Moriah from Te Awe Brandon Street Library
Prize description:
- Double pass to a concert in Orchestra Wellington’s The Story season
- Selection of recent CD releases from Rattle Records
- Assorted locally-made goodies, including chocolate!
Massive congratulations to all our winners!
Thank you as well to all of our wonderful sponsors for their support of this year’s Summer Reading Adventure. In no particular order: Ben & Jerry’s Wellington, Circa Theatre, Gecko Press, Light House Cinema, Office Max NZ, Orchestra Wellington, Rattle Records, Read NZ Te Pou Muramura, Staglands Wildlife Reserve and Cafe, Unity Books, the Wellington Footlights Society, Wētā Workshop, Ye Olde Pinball Shoppe, Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, and Wellington Zoo. Ngā mihi to you all for helping us help you keep reading over the summer!
But most of all, thank you and congratulations to everyone who took part! As we’ve noted before, you have positively blown our socks off with your reading and we couldn’t be prouder of you all. See you for the next Adventure!