Otago Polyfest Announces New Dates For 2021

After careful consideration of the risks and implications of the current Covid19 environment, the trustees and the staff of the Otago Polyfest are pleased to announce new dates of this year's festival.

“The decision to postpone is preferable to cancelling,” said Co-chair, Angelina Kiore. “Last year was disappointing for us all - especially the senior secondary school students. We are mindful of the challenges that schools, and early learning services have been dealing with and the changes they will need to make.”

“Our priority right now is the health and well-being of our communities and ensuring that we are following government guidelines and advice,” says Ms Kiore. “It was so heartening to receive support from people across the education sector to postpone this year’s festival,”

The new dates for the 28th Otago Polyfest are Monday 18 October - Friday 22 October and will celebrate the end of the week with the Te Moananui a Kiwa community concert.

“Managing the logistics and schedules for events such as the Polyfest has become a requirement for festival planning in the Covid19 environment, and it is positive that the venue and our providers are able to work with us to complete preparations,” says newly appointed Festival Director, Tanya Muagututi’a.

“The registration process has been completed and the team is about to confirm our impressive programme and our Friday night event is shaping up well too,” adds Ms Muagututi’a. “The development of Covid19 contingency plans for all Alert Levels includes an Alert Level 2 digital opportunity that takes advantage of our live streaming capability. We will continue to explore these options.”

The Trustees are thankful for such a great team on board and the ongoing support from the community and education providers. “Even though we have been anxious about the impact of this current situation, we encourage all groups to continue rehearsals and we look forward to hosting your performances,” concludes Ms Kiore.

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