Family events legacy changes hands

Dona and Gavin White, founders of North Port Events, which runs The Food Show, the Baby Show, Fine Food New Zealand, Facilities Integrate, the Waikato Home & Garden Show and Autumn HomeXPO, have sold their 26-year-old business after 114 shows.

North Port Events was created in 1993 when Gavin and Dona had two young children and another on the way. Dona, with a background in hospitality trade shows, wanted to start a show specifically for the needs of new parents, and the Parent and Child Show was born, now known as the Baby Show. Planned from their spare bedroom, with Gavin moonlighting after working his “real job” each day, the show was an instant success, forming the basis for future shows.

Gavin, a former lawyer, joined North Port fulltime in 2000 – the year they launched the first Food Show in Auckland. Now there are 25 full-time employees, including General Manager, Rebecca Stewart, who has held almost every position in the company and grown with them in the last 17 years. 

The couple have built a business that not only includes the biggest events for both the food and baby sectors in the country, but also other exhibitions that serve key consumer trends and vital industries.

Dona and Gavin just closed their last event, the Waikato Home & Garden Show before the sale of North Port Events will be completed in early November. The new owner of North Port Events is XPO Exhibitions, another Auckland-based family owned exhibition organiser.

Reflecting on the business they have built, Dona explains the decision to sell was not an easy one. “The people are like family to us, but we want to make more time for us, we want to live more,” explains Dona. “In addition to our business goals, we also have important lifestyle goals: sailing the world, other travel and active adventures while we’re still young enough. So, when we were approached [to sell], we didn’t want to be the ones who missed an opportunity.”

Millions have been through the doors of the shows that bear the North Port name, a legacy Dona and Gavin are proud to carry. The duo will still remain involved in the exhibitions industry and will remain involved with the Auckland Art Fair in coming years. As for the rest of the North Port Events team, its business as usual with the Christchurch Food Show the next event to take place in 2020.