The Hororata Community Trust was formed after the quake.
Said trust chairman Richard Lang: "We knew we would survive but the question was how to ensure the community and its people thrived.
"This year (November 7) the community will celebrate the 10th Hororata Highland Games.
"The games have always been about community spirit and pride; developing a strong identity, a sense of place; it is about the well-being of our people.
"Two hundred and twenty people join Clan Hororata every year to make the games happen.
"These people are connected to the area, they are passionate about our community and its future.
"From the games we have been able to think big.
"It has been the foundation from which the Hororata tartan, whisky, pie and Night Glow have grown.”
The games and the Night Glow last year raised a collective $30,000. The two festivals attracted 25,000 people to the area in 2019.
"Undoubtedly, Hororata is on the map because of these events and this has had a flow-on effect to all community groups and businesses in the wider area,” Lang said.
"A University of Canterbury economic study carried out in 2019 found that the games provides an annual economic benefit of $370,000 to the Selwyn District.
"In the past nine years the trust has invested $150,000 back into the community through various projects and donations. All of this has been possible because of the many people and businesses who are connected to the trust.”
•To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the first earthquake the Hororata Community Trust has released a special limited edition Hororata Whisky. In a collector’s edition decanter, the whisky has been specially selected by Sir Alex Bruce of Adelphi Distillery in Scotland and Michael Fraser-Mile from Whisky Galore, both have been valuable supporters of the Hororata Community Trust for a decade.
