Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards
Caption: Our 2026 local winners and runners-up celebrate their success and incredible contribution to the Upper Hutt community together.
2026 Upper Hutt winners, runners-up, and all finalists
Congratulations to our local winners, runners-up, and finalists of the 2026 Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards!
Our local winners have now progressed to the regional stage. Regional winners will be announced in November.
Click or tap on a tile below to see the full details.
Winners and runners-up
Arts and Culture
Winner: Upper Hutt Musical Theatre
Runner-up: Carols in the Park – Upper Hutt City of Song
Education and Child/Youth Development
Winner: I Have a Dream Upper Hutt
Runner-up: UHub Upper Hutt
Health and Wellbeing
Winner: LaddersUp
Runner-up: Wesley Thrift Shop
Heritage and Environment
Winner: Upper Hutt Repair Café
Runner-up (joint): Forest and Bird Upper Hutt
Runner-up (joint): Mahinga Kai Composting
Sport and Leisure
Winner: Upper Hutt Roller Skating Club
Runner-up: Upper Hutt City Football
Rising Star
Winner: Upper Hutt Food Week
Runner-up: Ngā Manako ō Pūrehurehu
Supreme Award
Winner: Upper Hutt Repair Café
Upper Hutt finalists (full list)
- 22 (City of Upper Hutt) Squadron Air Training Corps
- Big Brothers Big Sisters
- Carols in the Park – Upper Hutt City of Song
- Citizens Advice Bureau Upper Hutt
- Crafting Threads of Aroha
- Forest and Bird Upper Hutt
- Heretaunga Bookfest Charitable Trust
- Heretaunga College Girls' Football Team / Heretaunga College Relay for Life
- Hutt Valley Singers
- I Have a Dream Upper Hutt
- Kickstart
- LaddersUp
- Mahinga Kai Composting (4 A Better City Charitable Trust)
- Maidstone Intermediate Student Referees
- Ngā Manako ō Pūrehurehu
- Nourish Trust
- Pinehaven Potters
- ReloadFX Upper Hutt
- Seniortech Skills Upper Hutt
- Silverstream School Trappers
- Stockdale Farm
- The Graveyard Shift
- The Hub Social Coffee Shop & Op Shop
- Timberlea Community House
- UHub Upper Hutt
- Upper Hutt Autism Group
- Upper Hutt City Football
- Upper Hutt Community Badminton
- Upper Hutt Community Patrol
- Upper Hutt Food Week
- Upper Hutt Foodbank
- Upper Hutt Housing Charitable Trust
- Upper Hutt Junior Rams RFC
- Upper Hutt Menzshed
- Upper Hutt Musical Theatre
- Upper Hutt Piano Trust
- Upper Hutt Repair Café
- Upper Hutt Roller Skating Club
- Wellington Naturist Club
- Wesley Thrift Shop
About the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards
Every year, we team up with Wellington Airport to recognise the work of community groups in Upper Hutt. The focus of the awards is to celebrate volunteers for their valuable contribution to society.
In the first round, the Wellington region’s five councils (Wellington City, Porirua, Kāpiti, Hutt City, and Upper Hutt) recognise their local volunteer organisations in six different categories.
For the second and final round, winners from each region progress to the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards (WARCA) for the overall award in their category, and the opportunity to be named Supreme Winner. The winners are announced at an annual celebration dinner.
The awards have been run since 2004, recognising hundreds of community groups across the region. Nominations are open during April and May each year, and there is $50,000 in awards and prizes to be won.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Visit the official Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards website.
For more information, please email: wellingtonairportawards@uhcc.govt.nz
Who is eligible for the awards?
You can nominate any not-for-profit group or organisation working for the benefit of our community.
Please note: The awards recognise community groups and organisations, not individual volunteers.
What are the award categories?
There are six award categories:
- Arts and Culture – for enhancing or increasing participation in arts and creative leisure activities;
- Education and Child/Youth Development – for improving or enhancing the educational and social development of children/youth;
- Health and Wellbeing – for fostering the health and wellbeing of our community;
- Heritage and Environment – for improving or revitalising our environment, culture, or heritage;
- Sport and Leisure – for supporting participation and enjoyment in physical sport, leisure activities, and recreational pursuits;
- Rising Star – recognising and encouraging emerging grassroots groups in the community.
What are the judging criteria?
The judging panel considers these key factors:
- volunteer input
- utilisation of resources
- innovation and creativity
- effectiveness of activities
- impact within the community
- recent activities (from the past 12 months)