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| New Zealand's Top 10 Hot Summer Events |  |
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Despite a relatively mild year-round climate compared to the northern half of the world, New Zealanders still get mighty excited about summer and a wave of events draw crowds outside. From December through February, scores of festivals, concerts and street fairs sprout up on both the North and South Islands and, considering the country's small size, it's quite easy to fit a few of them into one's schedule. So, here is a pick of New Zealand's hottest summer events. Each one attracts throngs of locals and visitors and embodies the essence of the Kiwi lifestyle—a love of the outdoors, food, music, creativity and fun! POHUTUKAWA FESTIVAL As New Zealand's native Pohutukawa tree blooms with bright red flowers along the coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, so the advent of summer blooms with an array of vibrant events during the annual Pohutukawa Festival. Otherwise known as the New Zealand Christmas tree, the Pohutukawa is a fitting symbol for this festive event that celebrates both the coming of the Christmas season and a Kiwi summer. Among concerts and art exhibitions, festival highlights include the Cafe Crawl, a national 4WD rally, a Dive Festival and the Tairua Pohutukawa Party where summer revelers kick back on a blanket in the grass and enjoy the live sounds of New Zealand's top bands, regional wine and cuisine, and arts and crafts. For approximately two weeks, from late November to early December, events take place all over the Coromandel, namely Thames, Whitianga, Coromandel Town and Tairua. COCA-COLA CHRISTMAS IN THE PARK Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park is New Zealand's biggest free annual event. This huge family concert has been a Christmas highlight since it began in 1994 and attracts hundreds of thousands of people each year. Nothing gets people into both the Christmas and community spirit like Christmas in the Park. Crowds gather on the grass armed with picnic blankets, lawn chairs and glow sticks ready to enjoy the dazzling on-stage entertainment by up-and-coming young talent and celebrity guests. Join in the singing, dig in to the refreshments and look out for Santa! This event is held at the Auckland Domain in Auckland and at Christchurch's North Hagley Park on two separate dates in early December. TSB BANK FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS From mid-December through early February, Pukekura Park in New Plymouth transforms into a luminescent dream world. The TSB Bank Festival of Lights draws thousands of people to this beautiful 52-ha (128 acre) park during summer each year. The main attraction is the enchanting night-time lighting display where more than 1,000 lights and 5,000 km (3,107 mi) of cable creates the magic of rainbow trees overhead, glowing pathways underfoot, and sparkling gardens of light all around. Free nightly entertainment by national and international performers on open-air stages adds to the effervescent atmosphere. Officially established in 1993, the festival is one of Taranaki's longest running and favourite events.
For the youth of New Zealand, the laid back beats of hip hop, the invigorating riffs of rock and the irresistible pulse of dance compile the soundtrack to summer. Started by a couple of Otago University lads in 2003, Rhythm and Vines rocks Gisborne every New Year's Eve. Surrounded by grapevines at Waiohika Estate Vineyard, festival-goers can sip fine wine under the setting sun while enjoying a stellar line up of national and international bands on four stages. Join more than 15,000 others in the “first city to see the sun” to be the first in the world to greet the new year, which goes off with a bang in a crescendo of midnight fireworks and laser lights. Now a three-day festival, the event also includes street performers, dancers, art, local cuisine and market stalls. BLUES, BREWS AND BBQ'S Catering to a more mature crowd, Blues, Brews and BBQ's is another festival celebrating a love of music, fine beverages, fresh food and enjoying it all in the great outdoors. Every January, this highly anticipated event is held at three locations across the country—Hastings, Mount Maunganui and Blenheim—and collectively attracts a crowd of approximately 25,000 each year. Backyard barbeques are a Kiwi tradition and at Blues, Brews and BBQ's the region's best chefs fire up the grills for a feast of local and international fare, while scores of beer stations put the spotlight on New Zealand's rapidly growing brewing industry, showcasing the variety and quality of Kiwi beer—the perfect cool complement to a whitebait fritter fresh off the barbie. Set to a backdrop of soothing blues by talented national performers, this event epitomises a laid-back Kiwi summer. WORLD BUSKERS FESTIVAL The arts are alive and strong in Christchurch, and the annual World Buskers Festival in late January is one of the city's (and country's) creative pride and joys. Celebrating all forms of street theatre, this spectacle offers ten days of astounding street performances by talented souls from across the country and around the world. Each day musicians, acrobats, contortionists and sideshow artists amaze and entertain onlookers at festival hubs in Victoria and Cathedral Squares, the Botanic Gardens and Brighton. And city nightlife gets an injection of circus flair with the funniest Kiwi comedians and late-night buskers performing at venues throughout downtown. MARLBOROUGH WINE FESTIVAL
Based at the Montana Brancott Estate in Blenheim, Marlborough—one of the country's foremost wine regions—this annual festival offers wine tastings and tutorials, paired with the best of New Zealand cuisine, a Fashion in the Vines show, a wine tour, a Marlborough Sounds boat cruise and live music by some of the country's hottest performers. HOKONUI MOONSHINERS FESTIVAL Whether or not it's history to be proud of, the Hokonui Moonshiners' Festival celebrates 120 years of bootleg whiskey in the Southland region. Hokonui's boutique whiskey is undeniably legendary and Southlanders are indeed proud. The drink survived more than a century of prohibition and this annual festival celebrates that, along with the southern drinking culture, “kiwi ingenuity”, fun and frivolity. Held annually in late February in Gore—the original home of Hokonui Moonshine—this festival caters not only to whiskey-lovers, but also to connoisseurs of other joyous drinks, southern cuisine, toe-tappin' music and good times. Festival-goers may also enjoy complimentary entry to the Hokonui Moonshine Museum. Held in conjunction with the festival, the MLT Moonshine Trail mountain bike and running race is open to the extra-energetic. TE MATATINI NATIONAL KAPA HAKA FESTIVAL One of New Zealand's most significant cultural events, the Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Festival promotes and celebrates Maori performing arts. Kapa Haka is known as the performance of Maori song, and this national competition brings qualifying Kapa Haka teams together from 14 regional competitions held throughout the preceding year. Simultaneously supporting the preservation of tradition and encouraging the unity of cultures, the biennial National Kapa Haka Festival is a big deal and attracts approximately 40,000 people over four days in late February. The event opens with a powhiri (an official Maori welcome) and, alongside the competition, features arts and crafts, workshops, kids' activities and lively entertainment on outdoor stages.
Now a biennial event, Wellington's vivacious Cuba Street Carnival attracts well over 100,000 people over two days and nights in late February and is one of New Zealand's biggest street festivals. Held in the country's artistic hub, the carnival revels in creativity, New Zealand's mix of global cultures and the participation of all. The carnival zone encompasses inner-city Ghuznee and Manners Streets, Courtenay Place and Cuba Street—the Bohemian pulse of the city and the core of the festival. Blocked off to traffic, the streets are adorned with market stalls, numerous music stages and fairground rides, and roving street performers weave through the crowds. But the highlight of the Cuba Street Carnival is the Illuminated Night Parade. Winding its way through the night in an explosion of colour, music and dancing, it's a fitting send-off for a spectacular Kiwi summer. If you enjoyed this feature, take a look at these great WorldWeb.com articles: • Getting Back to Nature: Tramping the North Island's National Parks • A Thrill-Seeker's Guide to Queenstown: Adventure Capital of the World PHOTOS COURTESY OF:
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