Key Event Information for Ngapuhi Festival 2018

24 January 2018

Key Event Information for Ngapuhi Festival 2018

This Saturday will see thousands of people come together in Whangarei for Ngāpuhi Festival 2018, a biannual celebration that brings communities together to experience Ngāpuhi entertainment, food, arts, crafts, and hospitality.

Hosted by Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi O Ngāpuhi, Ngāpuhi Festival is Northland’s largest free music, arts, community and cultural celebration and will be held at Toll Stadium on Saturday 27 January 2018 from 8am to 8pm.

Event organisers expect more than 20,000 people to attend throughout the day. Attendees will predominantly be from Northland however a third are expected to be from outside the region. The event will be live-streamed to cater for the large population of

Ngāpuhi descendants based outside of Northland and overseas. The 2016 live stream content was viewed more than 14,000 times.

The event caters for diverse ages and interests with a number of family friendly components, which include:

• 12 hours of live music and entertainment

• Free rides and activities for children

• The Youth BAE area with free interactive activities & giveaways for teenagers

• Toi Ngāpuhi Premier Iwi Art Exhibition with live taa moko and graffiti art

• Food, art, craft and info stalls

• Interactive live-streaming to the festival big-screen

• Whare Manaaki, a dedicated area for preschoolers and their whanau

Due to anticipated numbers, the road in front of Toll Stadium will be closed. High traffic volume is expected to put pressure on parking in the Whangarei CBD and surrounds so where possible people are encouraged to walk, car-pool and use public transport.

As a major supporter of the festival NorthTec will be running free shuttles to and from Festival on Saturday 27 January, from the following locations:

Tikipunga – Tikipunga Tavern

Otangarei – Shopping Shops

Raumanga – NorthTec Marae (Gate 1)

Otaika – Tauroa Street (by Bunnings)

Kamo – Wilkinson Ave - (by Kamo High School)

Onerahi – by the Onerahi Tavern

The first shuttle will leave each location at 8:00am and drop off at Toll Stadium. They will then run hourly until 12pm. The shuttles will resume at 5pm from Toll Stadium and run hourly until 8pm. Timings will be subject to demand and traffic.

Rachel O’Gorman from Venues and Events Whangarei states, “We’re proud to be hosting such a significant cultural and community event at Toll Stadium. This week we are really focused on preparing the venue to cater for the large influx of people. We encourage people to come well prepared and ensure they understand what they can and can’t bring into the venue to ensure they have a great whānau day out”

Festival Event Manager Tio Taiaki says “Ngāpuhi Festival promises to be the best FREE whānau day out and we look forward to everyone coming to Toll Stadium on Saturday.

The event starts at 8am and will provide 12 hours of fun, celebration, food and culture, ending at 8pm with award winning RnB & Soul diva, Aaradhna. More information can be found on the festival FB page and website ngapuhifestival.com.

The event is proudly smoke, alcohol and drug free.

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