Festivals

Hamilton Airport has entered a new three-year sponsorship deal with the Balloons Over Waikato festival. 

The four-day Te Matatini festival contributed to a $22m boost to New Zealand’s economy, according to a post-event report cited by Eden Park.

The Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival will now be known as Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora ki Kirikiriroa.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to converge on Auckland central this weekend for the city’s Diwali Festival.

Wellington will come alive with Pasifika music, crafts, food, and culture as part of a range of festivities beginning this weekend.

Seven major murals are being created across central Christchurch as part of the Flare Street Art Festival.

Wānaka food and wine festival Ripe will take place online on 19 March, the same day the cancelled live event was due to take place.

Learning lessons from last year, organisers are creating a range of new events that can be held at the red traffic light setting.

Organisers of Napier’s Art Deco Festival say they are working with event venues and event producers to reconfirm how they wished to proceed with their entries following the move to the red Covid setting.

The Auckland Lantern Festival 2022 will return at the Auckland Showgrounds after a two-year absence.

The Waikato River Festival can help divert the flow of tourists from traditional routes to support more operators in the region, says Tainui Waka Tourism.

The Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival has been postponed to 4-5 February 2022.

Tairāwhiti trails and a food festival have secured funding from Trust Tairāwhiti.

Vaccine certification could bring more certainty to events like F.A.W.C!, which has been postponed until 2022.

The Chinese Lantern Festival in Auckland will be held at the Auckland Showgrounds from 10-13 February 2022 as it could not be held on the waterfront due to operational constraints there.

The Yealand Classic Fighters Airshow for 2021 has been cancelled due to the likelihood that the country will not be at an alert level below level 2 by the opening.

The Grow Ōtautahi garden festival will be postponed a year to 2023 due to not reaching critical funding levels.

The Eat.Taste.Central festival across Central Otago returns for its fifth year from 24 September to 25 October.

The inaugural Wellington Festival of Fashion will make its debut this Friday.

Wellington’s CubaDupa festival has opened artist applications and expressions of interest for its 2022 festival.

International science conference and Australasian ports conference also slated for this year.

Waitomo is celebrating Matariki with eight days of events from 3-10 July, alongside hosted cave tours and underground boat rides.

LGBTTQ+ festival to run from 27 August to 5 September.

Activities range from kite flying to weaving.

Wellington is set to receive a ‘bumper culinary weekend’ from 13-15 August with two coinciding festivals, Beervana and Visa Wellington On a Plate.

More than 60 events planned across region between 11 June and 31 July.

Cyclorama e-bike festival set to go ahead on 13-14 November 2021.

Sports, stage shows and a smorgasbord of food festivals in New Zealand’s largest city.

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts is set to open its Happy Valley beginner’s ski facility at Whakapapa on Saturday 5 June with the rest of the field and neighbouring Tūroa opening on 3 July.

The inaugural Ōtautahi Christchurch South Island Moon Festival is set to illuminate the central business district with a display of art, lanterns, performances and food in September.

This year’s event was originally planned for March.

Inaugural country music festival to be held 29 May until 6 June in Gore.

Organisers have “flipped the script doing away with scallops altogether,” says Destination Coromandel GM Hadley Dryden.

Wānaka’s inaugural food and wine festival Ripe drew 2000 festival goers on Sunday 21 March at Corbridge Woolshed.

Steve Armitage, general manager destination at Auckland Unlimited said Summernova’s charity partners represented the festival’s ethos of inclusivity and sustainability.

The Kāpiti Food Fair is hoping to go ahead thanks to a $25,000 grant from the Government’s Domestic Events Fund and $10,000 from Kāpiti Coast District Council.

China Southern Airlines has added sponsorship of New Zealand’s largest showcase of Chinese culture to its portfolio of investments fostering relations between the two countries.

The four-day Real Journeys Queenstown Winter Festival kicked off for its 44th year yesterday evening.

Destination Queenstown is delighted to announce the appointment of Rae Baker to the position of Queenstown Winter Festival Director.

Palmerston North City Council is hosting the three-day Winter Festival for locals and Lions rugby tour visitors.