A lively programme of 27 events that traverse the full gamut of arts experiences, take over the city with the 13th biannual Tauranga Arts Festival this October.

Programme is now live www.taurangafestival.co.nz

Audiences are in for a real treat with some of our finest theatre makers, writers, comedians, poets, singers and artists set to energise the city with 10 days of arts.

The festival is poised to host artists such as international rising star and alt-pop sensation Theia, novelist Emily Perkins, filmmaker Gaylene Preston, award-winning theatre maker Katie Wolfe, Morgana O’Reilly of Mean Mums fame, The Veils’ Finn Andrews, ground-breaking director Anapela Polata’ivao, local hero Lynley Dodd, revered Samoan actor Maiava Nathaniel Lees, That Bloody Woman’s Esther Stephens, Ockham Book Award winner Tusiata Avia, NZTrio and songbirds like Anna Coddington, Julia Deans and Mel Parsons.

This is the first programme curated by new Artistic Director and Arts Foundation Laureate, Shane Bosher.

He wants everyone in Tauranga Moana to feel like the festival has made space for them.

“From hip-hop street dance battles to interactive space adventures to raucous funnies with Aotearoa’s queens of comedy, there really is something for everyone. The programme strikes a balance between thought-provoking contemporary work which will expand your mind and inclusive free community events for the whole whānau. Locals, visitors, arts buffs and first timers are all welcome,” he says.

The theatre programme offers the opportunity to experience some of the finest original works that have been made in Aotearoa in recent years.

Jenny Mitchell.

Following its highly acclaimed national tour, The Haka Party Incident joins The Savage Coloniser Show, UPU, Stories About My Body and Tea with Terrorists to bring provocative and inspirational theatre to the stage.

For ages 7 to 70+, Mission Control: Mars combines live performance and video game engine technology to team up and launch a rocket to Mars. Moon, which is created for younger audience including pre-school youngsters, follows the journey of a clown dressed up as Napolean who for the life of him, just can’t find the moon.

The live music programme is an exciting blend of genres that ranges from Ireland’s award-winning Gráda, who reunite after10 years for an evening of energetic traditional folk, to the soft alt-country tones of Jenny Mitchell.

Ten years ago, soaring vocalist Tama Waipara knocked out Tauranga audiences in Silo Theatre’s Brel. He returns to the festival with Te Katoa, a stirring catalogue of new waiata that explore whakapapa and legacy.

Tama Waipara.

The whole whānau are invited down to the waterfront on Saturday, October 28, for Waiata Mai. Aiming to bring people together through song while uplifting te reo Māori, this free event is led by local heroes such as Ria Hall (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Pukenga) and is curated by Tauranga’s own Jason Te Mete (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi). It promises to have the whole community singing their hearts out. 

Participation runs right through the heart of Biggie & Smalls, an epic show of street dance fun for the whole whānau. Locals are encouraged to join in a free workshop one night – and then get to show off their skills at a family-friendly street dance battle the following night.

Created by one of Aotearoa’s hottest hip-hop street dance crews, Projekt Team, this unique event sees the winners judged and crowned by the audience.

For comedy lovers Tauranga’s favourite country music legend from Cripple Creek, Colorado, Wilson Dixon returns with an all-new show, made especially for Tauranga Arts Festival.

Fresh from her win of the 2023 Billy T Award, Abby Howells offers up a hilarious take on love and nautical trauma. Fellow comedians and TV stars Justine Smith and Kura Forrester round out a comedy programme that will have audiences laughing long after they’ve left the theatre.

The Visual Arts programme celebrates the work of Tauranga Moana artists through special partnerships with Toi Tauranga Art Gallery, Toi Ohomai | Te Pūkenga and the Heritage Collection. Highlights include an interactive installation that has punters following a hidden city-wide trail for Wunderboxes, and a wickedly playful take on inclusion, A Seat at the Table, which offers a diverse point of view on the contemporary fine arts scene. A charming meeting of old and new ideas informs Te Whakaata I Te Matapihi: Glimpses which asks rangatahi to respond to objects found in city’s Heritage Collection.

The 2023 festival takes over the city in multiple locations including the Cargo Shed, Carrus Crystal Palace, Edgewater Fan, Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, University of Waikato and special festival pop up locations such as Red Square. These locations make up the lively Tauranga Arts Festival Precinct, designed so that audiences can take in multiple events over a day out.

Tauranga Arts Festival runs 19-29 October 2023
For more info and bookings visit: www.taurangafestival.co.nz