The Wingman Festival

Shane Billingham of Great Barrier Island was an incredibly talented musician and artist who travelled the world spreading his own unique brand of joy, warmth, happiness and creativity to those who met him.

Shane tragically passed away in an accident at Burning Man festival in 2019, leaving his family and friends devastated and the world a little less bright.

Shane loved so many things life had to offer but music, festivals and his island home were his life-blood.

Together with Shane’s family, the Wingman Trust has been established to continue to breathe life into Shane’s legacy...

On the 30th January 2021, our inaugural music and arts festival will take place on Great Barrier Island (Aotea)in loving memory of Shaney B.

‘The Wingman Festival’ is born, a spectacular of music and workshops the likes of which have never before been seen on Aotea.

Aotea has four schools catering for both primary and secondary education. As with many rural NZ schools they are woefully underfunded for anything other than the core subjects of study (English, Mathematics and Science). Combined with our isolated location, it is extremely difficult for our schools to facilitate anything further, something we feel is a huge loss for our children.

Proceeds from festival ticket sales (after costs) will be donated by the Wingman Trust to the three island primary schools and Aotea Learning Hub to assist island children in their pursuit of music and the arts. Whether that may be a school trip to the mainland to attend a music performance, theatre production, purchasing art equipment and musical instruments, or funding tuition, the options are endless with successful annual fundraising through The Wingman Festival.

We, the trust, are seeking donations to fund our initial festival set up; purchasing staging, equipment, marquee tents and everything in between. We need your help! During this first year our costs will be substantial but once we have assets in place, we will be able to run this charity event annually thereafter on our own steam.

We have big dreams...to remember Shane with love and to provide the stepping stones to allow our children to follow theirs, in his name.

Please donate, a little or a lot...it will all go a long way towards this great charitable event.