Join us to celebrate the festive season with our Deck the Pod Community Christmas Party here at South Alive on Saturday 7 December.
We will have music, entertainment, food trucks, free facepainting and craft stalls for some Christmas shopping too. Santa will be in his grotto in The Pantry for some FREE selfies with Santa too.  

Wrap of 2024 – Key Achievements & Milestones
As we come to the end of 2024, it is wonderful to look back at all that has been achieved by our incredible volunteers and team here at South Alive and The Pantry.
 
Contributions – More than 6500 volunteer hours have been contributed in the past year.
Volunteers contribute in so many different ways, from being part of one of our Volunteer Actions Teams, helping at working bees and signature events, or working in our wholefood store and café The Pantry.
The time spent in community service and citizenship is outstanding and reflects a genuine commitment from our community, and desire to be part of a team that can make a difference.
We have also had more than 80 businesses or organisations support us throughout the year, whether providing a quiz night prize, providing materials for working bees, providing professional services at no cost, or helping us promote what we do.
 
Celebrations – over 85 events held!
Our regular and one-off events provide an opportunity for the community to come together, be proud to live here, and showcase their diverse skills and talents. Events have included, concerts in our community park, children’s day celebrations, and regular school holiday events.
 
Connection – providing spaces and opportunities to bring the community together
Our community rooms, park and The Pantry all provide valuable spaces to connect and we love seeing the regular faces and groups that come together here. 
We have also collaborated with so many different individuals, groups, businesses and organisations, as working together we can achieve so much more!
 
Capacity Building – delivering workshops and classes.
From bucket gardening, to Zumba, composting to CVs, bike maintenance to resilience building,
warmer homes to interview skills there has been something for everyone with the workshops that have been delivered. These have also been a great way for our local community to share their skills and passions, as they take the lead in delivering these initiatives.  
 
There is so much more that has happened this year and we couldn’t capture it all here in one page. But to everyone who has been part of our story this year and made a difference in our community we want to say a massive THANKS!

Shopping local for Christmas is a wonderful way to support your community, discover unique gifts, and reduce your carbon footprint.
 
The Festive Season is upon us and this year we are offering you a Murihiku Made Christmas. There’s no better way to spread cheer than by shopping local!
By choosing to support The Pantry, our local crafters, and Murihiku producers, you not only find one-of-a-kind gifts but also contribute to the growth and prosperity of your community. Let’s make this Christmas special for both your loved ones and our community. 

Two week night Christmas markets with fresh produce and hand made foods by locals. Our way of travelling alongside the Murihiku Good Food Road Map and supporting those locals doing the hard yards. We’d love your support too on 11th & 18th December 4-7.30pm.

Santa is back at The Pantry for selfies, check out the below for the dates. You can take the picture for free and let him know about your Christmas list. Pets are very welcome to have their selfie with Santa as well.

KEY DATES FOR ENJOYING PANTRY EVENTS
7 December: Selfie with Santa 11am-1pm & 4pm-6pm
9 December: Mend it Monday 10am-2pm
11 December: Murihiku Made Christmas Market 4pm-7.30pm
14 December: Village market 10am-1pm
14 December: Selfie with Santa 11am-1pm (Pet photo with Santa)
18 December: Murihiku Made Christmas Market 4pm-7.30pm
24 December: Last day of trade.
6 January: Reopening
 
As the year comes to a close, we just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your support throughout the year. Your loyalty means the world to us, it’s been a pleasure helping you, and we can’t wait to continue serving you in the year ahead.

On Thursday 28 November we unveiled the latest panel in our South Invercargill Heritage Trail. On the corner by the Appleby Cricket Club, this panel tells the history of local ice cream legend Brian Simon, Invercargill’s leading lady Eve Poole, and the strong sporting history of the area with the Appleby Cricket Club. Legend has it Brian Simon invented hokey pokey, so of course we had to unveil the panel with a scoop (or two) of New Zealand’s most iconic and popular ice cream flavour!  

Also stay tuned for an upcoming televised story in 2025 of this opening of the panel along with an interview with Brian Simon himself. 

This panel joins others already installed at Russell Square and the War Memorial on Elles Road. Keep your eye out for more panels coming soon at the Southland Hospital, Ness Street playground, Estuary and more!

Busy Bodies Childcare – nominating us as their charity to support at the ILT Christmas Tree Festival
New World Elles Road – providing our World Kindness Day raffles
Plants South – providing plants for our bucket gardening workshops and projects
Jackson Plumbing – providing plumbing services
Sarina J Facepainting and Festive Vibes – decorating our windows to celebrate the festive season.

Funders –Thanks again to the incredible funders who believe in and supported our mahi this year – Department of Internal Affairs, Lotteries, ILT and ILT Foundation, Community Trust South, Invercargill City Council,  New Zealand Aluminium Smelter and Murihiku Runaka Community Development Fund, Te Rourou One Aotearoa Foundation, and Active Southland.