Craft spirits, local food and live music will come together on 5 December as the venue continues its next chapter following Cyclone Gabrielle.
Craft spirits, local food and live music will come together on 5 December as the venue continues its next chapter following Cyclone Gabrielle.
Webfit News | Hawke’s Bay
Shed 530 lost its vineyards to Cyclone Gabrielle. This December, the Hawke’s Bay hospitality venue will open its gates for a new milestone: the region’s first Gindulgence festival.
Scheduled for 5 December 2026, the event will bring New Zealand craft distillers together with local food vendors and live musicians, adding a new fixture to the region’s summer events calendar.
For Shed 530, hosting the festival carries significance beyond a day of food and drink. It reflects the venue’s efforts to build its hospitality and events business after the cyclone changed the property’s future.
Chief Winemaker Kel Dixon says the loss remains part of Shed 530’s story, but so does the community support that followed.
“The past few years have certainly tested our resilience. While the vineyards we once had are gone, the spirit of Shed 530 remains stronger than ever.”
Dixon says welcoming Gindulgence is an opportunity to bring residents and visitors together.
“We’re incredibly proud to welcome the first Gindulgence Hawke’s Bay, bringing together outstanding local food, music, hospitality and some of New Zealand’s best distillers for a day that celebrates everything we love about this region. It’s a chance for our community and visitors alike to come together and create new memories at Shed 530.”
New Zealand craft spirits will be a central feature of the festival, with serves paired with mixers from event sponsor Alchemy & Tonic.
The drinks programme will also include BATCHED cocktails, Estrella Damm beer and Shed 530 wines.
On the food side, the venue’s wood-fired pizzas will feature alongside local vendors, giving visitors a range of options throughout the day. Live music will accompany the festival, although the release does not name the performers or participating distilleries.
The format brings several parts of Hawke’s Bay’s hospitality scene into one setting, with food, drinks and entertainment sharing the programme.
Gindulgence follows Shed 530’s hosting of SIX60 last year, when thousands attended, according to the venue.
The two events illustrate how live entertainment has become part of the property’s identity alongside its food and wine offering.
December’s festival will introduce a different format, centred on craft producers and local hospitality. Organisers expect interest from both Hawke’s Bay residents and visitors as the summer season begins.
For Dixon and the Shed 530 team, it is another opportunity to bring people back to a property whose vineyards are gone, but whose role as a gathering place continues.
What: Gindulgence Hawke’s Bay
When: 5 December 2026
Where: Shed 530, Hawke’s Bay
Featuring: New Zealand craft spirits, Alchemy & Tonic mixers, BATCHED cocktails, Estrella Damm beer, Shed 530 wines, local food vendors and live music.
Ticket prices, event hours and the full entertainment and distillery line-up were not included in the announcement.
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