WAO’s 2125 summit has grown significantly over the eight years it has been running, with more passes being added and a diverse range of interests being catered to.
The event, which takes off next week, sold about 800 tickets last year and some of this year’s events had sold out weeks before the start date.
The summit’s aim is to host climate experts and programmes in Wānaka and Queenstown, which would provide real-world solutions on how local communities can sustainably thrive in the year 2125.
WAO programme manager Babu Blatt said she had seen the event evolve in the three years she had been involved, with more to do over the weekend this year.
"A lot of people were saying we just want to be able to come to more events but during the week in the daytime it’s not possible," she said.
"... this year we’ve decided to not only do a community tour but also have workshops and lectures on the Saturday for the community."
The summit is split into different passes, each with a different lens on sustainability.
This included sessions on building, business, food resilience and community focused sustainability.
"There’s definitely going to be some people who walk away with new knowledge you know new facts ... for others it’s more to connect with like-minded people."
The event also attracted those who wanted to engage in hobbies such as gardening or attending the film night for entertainment.
The other major target audience had been business owners looking for ways to work more sustainably.
Programme manager Aaron Thule, who facilitated the Better Building sessions, said businesses including building firms took a special interest in the workshops.
"I’ve had one local building company buy something like six tickets for his whole team, I’m assuming, to come and attend the whole day," Mr Thule said.
It was not only builders and tradies that looked to expand their knowledge on sustainable practice but also architects, designers, developers, and potential homeowners and buyers as well.
"You’ll get a builder along who, in his day-to-day, won’t think about design or architectural practices and by coming to our event, he gets a little insight on what’s going on in that realm within the building industry."
The summit offered different types of passes with those that gave access for the whole event, some that were for a particular day and others that were for one workshop or event.
Last week, Mr Thule said they had sold about 300 tickets to different events and they were looking to top last year.
The Inner Strength for Outer Impact workshop taking place at The Camp in Lake Hāwea was one of the events that had already sold out two weeks before the start of the summit.
Ms Blatt said people had been drawn to the session, which offered breath work and a sauna session in the morning, with a psychologist speaking about motivation and happiness.
The summit will run from October 28 to November 2 across different venues in the Upper Clutha and Queenstown.
— Allied Media
