Festival

The Auckland Writers Festival has attracted 60,000 attendees and 180 writers at its event in May.

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.

Kerikeri host the inaugural Brew of Islands Craft Beer Festival on 21-22 July.

“Tens of thousands” of fans are expected to flock to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland for the Te Matatini Festival of kapa haka, which is returning to the city for the first time in 11 years.

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

Auckland’s Laneway music festival is moving to Western Springs Stadium in 2023.

The annual Diwali festival will return to Auckland’s Aotea Square and Queen Street from 8 – 9 October.

Auckland’s Lantern Festival is moving to the Manukau Sports Bowl in 2023 to better accommodate up to 200,000 people who attend the cultural event every year.

The Walk Waiheke charitable trust has announced dates for its annual Waiheke Walking Festival, which will take place from 10 – 20 November.

Tauranga’s inaugural STEMFest is back after a two-year hiatus, promising a variety of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics activities to inspire children and the whole family.

The Flavours of Plenty Festival in the coastal Bay of Plenty will go ahead 7-10 April.

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.

The organisers of the 2022 Art Deco Festival in Napier, revamped to operate under the red setting of the traffic light system, are declaring the festivities a success.

Wanaka’s Ripe Food & Wine Festival and Ironman NZ in Taupō are the latest events to cancel due to capacity restrictions under Covid-19 red light settings.

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.

Wellington City Council has cancelled its A Very Welly Christmas festival due to Covid uncertainty.

The Diwali Festival of Lights in Wellington will be held online for 2021 due to Covid-19.

Auckland’s Diwali Festival will not go ahead this year due to uncertainty over Covid.

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.

Organisers have decided not to hold the Lumino Light Festival on 15-16 October as planned due to the Delta outbreak.

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.

Around 8100 visitor nights are expected to be generated by event

Yoga Festivals Australia will hold a New Zealand event for the first time in Hawke’s Bay on 7-8 August.

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.

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

Hanmer Springs will hold its first Winter Festival next month.

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.

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.

Two new winter music festivals are to hit southern ski slopes in the same week in September.

Auckland’s Pasifika Festival has been postponed following the Government’s announcement that Auckland will remain in Covid-19 alert level 2 until at least Friday 12 March.

Ōtautahi Pride Festival will go ahead with some events cancelled or postponed due to current Covid alert levels.

Snow Machine festival has sold out its inaugural festival in Queenstown. 

Auckland’s Pride director Max Tweedie is still optimistic about Pride March and Pride Party going ahead on the 27 February.

Auckland’s annual four-day Lantern Festival celebrating Chinese New Year will be ticketed this year and relocated to the city’s waterfront.

The Queenstown event aims to attract 5000 festival goers from New Zealand and Australia.

The annual WOMAD music festival at New Plymouth has been cancelled for the first time in its 16 years due to Covid-19 concerns.

Taranaki arts event RESET 2020 – A Festival for Aotearoa kicked off last week with three opening night performances across the region.

Auckland’s Takapuna Beach will host its first Waterbourne Beach Festival between February – March 2021.