Te Ramaroa is a celebration of community, creativity and the wonder of light.

In its fifth year, Te Ramaroa expanded its footprint across the city, creating new opportunities for installation sites, allowing more room for people to move, and most importantly, showing Nelson in a new light.

The new-look Te Ramaroa 2021 was embraced by the crowds, with its stunning array of more than 30 light installations through Church Hill, Nelson’s city streets, NMIT, Kirby Lane and Queens Gardens. Well over 50,000 people came out on a series of clear and crisp mid-winter nights to enjoy the illuminations, take in the entertainment on the stage and roving throughout the precincts, and sample the delights of more than a dozen food trucks in Kirby Lane.

Since it started in 2013, Te Ramaroa (formerly Light Nelson) has become one of Nelson’s largest and favourite biennial events. The event was founded on its commitment to showcasing installations by a diverse selection of local artists, schools and community groups. These are augmented by a select number of invited artists and designers.

The new-to-2021 Performance Precinct in upper Trafalgar Street showcased a diverse array of local talent, including Central School Choir, Elisha Hobbs, Two Alvaros, Made in Bahia, Dean Straker & Te Miri, and O & the Mo. Each night finished with a DJ set. There were also Flash Mobs, a Bike Rave and local choir Voice Collective performing an ode to the moon.

Chair of Te Ramaroa Trust Bronwyn Monopoli said, “Te Ramaroa has been constantly evolving since 2013, and this year we took it a step further by moving into the city centre. Our focus was on making the event accessible to a wider community, while still retaining the wonder and surprise of what has become Nelson’s own unique light festival.

We’re so pleased that the new layout was so well embraced. The streets came alive with people criss-crossing the city to the various installation sites, as well as taking in the extended opening hours at The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū.

Te Ramaroa is a magical festival, and we’re incredibly grateful to all our sponsors and Luminaries whose support means we can present such a large-scale event, free to everyone. Our thanks go to everyone who made Te Ramaroa 2021 such a marvellous success,” she said.

Project Manager Sophie Kelly said, “With this being our fifth year, we know that locals and visitors really look forward to Te Ramaroa, even more so after having to delay the event by an extra year. We also know that with each event, we must work that little bit harder to maintain the all-important surprise element. This year’s new sites gave our artists and creatives new possibilities and inspiration for displaying their installations.

Having Piki Mai as the central focus worked perfectly, with lots of locals exploring the pathways for the first time. The extended sites also meant we could include a Performance Precinct in upper Trafalgar Street, and the Food Hub at Kirby Lane.

We’re already receiving lots of positive feedback, which is a wonderful affirmation of the changes we made this year. The best reward of course, is watching the city coming alive with people dancing in the streets and seeing the delight and smiles on everyone’s faces.”

Highlights of the event include:

- UV Spaghetti in Morrison Square – a clever and simple design of luminous spaghetti that kept people entertained for hours. Also one of the most photographed installations – every photo a winner!

- The nightly publication of a book at Marcus McShane’s Nag, complete with made-on-the-spot writings and drawings, all powered by two bicycles (lights, music, laptop, hot-glue machine!).

- The majestic beauty of Bloom in the Queens Gardens, with large-scale flowers projected on the trees, opening and fading in response to people dancing.

- The performance of The Air Between Us, seeing aerial dancers Chloe Loftus and Rodney Bell spinning through the air above hundreds of enthralled people.

- Shuttlerock’s Digitised Genesis, the slightly bonkers projections across the Nelson Mail Building, created by more than 100 graphic designers from around the world.

- The life-size blue whale, Paikea, surrounded by larger-than life plankton, filling the Masonic Lodge.

- Pig Plays Dulcimer in an empty retail space, charming passers-by with his gentle and surreal three-minute renditions of baroque music.

- The Monday night Bike Rave, with more than 50 decorated riders and their pimped-up rides cycling through the city and finishing in front of the stage to sing a series of bike-themed songs.

- The return of geek-celebrity Mr Science, this year encouraging kids (and a surprising number of adults) to make 10,000 Fireflies with LED lights.

Te Ramaroa is a free outdoor event featuring light installations on every scale, from tiny discoveries, through to magnificent multi-storeyed projections. Te Ramaroa celebrates the alluring qualities of light – to illuminate, dazzle, transform, and to make a winter’s night a whole lot more magical.

Images for Te Ramaroa 2021: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qfockjiqnlm8pk1/AACHTXXB-hh1lfy-4b7n3jR8a?dl=0

www.teramaroa.nz

© Scoop Media