Art and performance are vital for people’s wellbeing, says the Tauranga Arts Festival’s new manager.

Sarah Cotter, who has a background in events development at the Tauranga City Council, said she planned to focus on connection in her new role as well as providing opportunities for Bay of Plenty art lovers.

“To connect with other people and share experiences through performance and art is vital for people’s well-being,” she told the Bay of Plenty Times.

The Escape Festival, launching on Friday, is a readers’ and writers’ event run by the festival organisation.

Cotter said one highlight at the festival would be The Next Stage: A Morning Tea event with broadcaster Judy Bailey – a conversation hosted by freelance feature writer Sandra Simpson at the Cargo Shed on Friday morning.

“[Escape] is very much about writers sharing their stories and connecting and inspiring with people,” Cotter said.

Looking to the full arts festival, which would be held this time next year, Cotter said there was a “world of possibilities and opportunities” when it came to using new spaces in the Bay of Plenty and “integrating the lifestyle that we have”.

That included local waterways and the harbour.

She said the art scene in Tauranga was “budding and burgeoning”.

“Tauranga is going through a massive growth in general in terms of the population.

“It’s really interesting to see that the average age here is 40, I think there was a misconception that it was full of old people,” Cotter said.

Moana Maniapoto will feature in the Coffee with the Headlines panel event.

She said she was excited to create space for mana whenua (Māori with local tribal connections) and noted the Bay of Plenty had one of the highest Māori populations in the country.

“We have 30% mana whenua, which is amazing,” she said.

Bringing on a new art director at Tauranga Arts Festival to curate that biennial event and Escape Festival would also bring new energy to arts in the city, Cotter said.

Megan Brown was finishing her delivery of the Spiegel Fest 2024 in Taranaki before starting in her Tauranga role in December.

Brown said she would be working remotely from Hawke’s Bay but was looking forward to spending as much time in Tauranga as possible.

“Tauranga Arts Festival has a great reputation in the industry for being one of the leading regional arts festivals in the whole country, and I followed it for a long time,” Brown said.

In her book, Evolving, Judy Bailey shares science and personal stories that have shaped her own path into older age.

Brown was looking forward to the Poetry Slam on Friday night at The Historic Village and the Escape Book Quiz on Saturday night at the Barrel Room.

“If you’re setting aside one night, you just want to cram as much as you can into it, I think that’s where this programme is so awesome because it’s three days and you can just boom, boom, boom, make the most of it,” Brown said.

Tauranga Arts Festival board chairperson Kathryn Lellman said the board was “thrilled” to have secured such “high calibre people”.

“Tauranga Arts Festival aims to expand minds, delight audiences, and encourage all corners of our community to become vibrant, active and connected,” Lellman said.

Chef Sam Low from MasterChef NZ will be doing a cooking demonstration at The Cargo Shed on Sunday. Photo / Vanessa Wu.

“Sarah and Megan are both passionate about achieving this.”

The Escape Festival programme also included Sam Low of MasterChef NZ doing a cooking demonstration; Coffee with the Headlines featuring NZ Herald reporter Jared Savage, Stuff’s Tony Wall and documentary maker Moana Maniapoto; a zinefest innovative theatre; writing workshops, and much more.

On Saturday night, Dame Susan Devoy will speak about her book detailing her life as a world squash champion, race relations commissioner, kiwifruit picker, Celebrity Treasure Island contestant and mother of four sons. Tickets for her A Life Less Ordinary were limited organisers said.