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The team organising Warkworth’s heritage Kowhai Festival is gearing up for a bigger event than last year including the return of the popular markets.
The annual event in the town centre, which has been running for more than 50 years, will be held on Saturday October 19.
Committee chair Melanie Marnet says it’s exciting to see the programme take shape.
The theme will be vintage fashion through the decades. Festival goers will be encouraged to dress in clothing from their favourite decade whether that was the roaring 40s, the punk 70s or the disco 80s.
As well as the market, there will be entertainment, food trucks and a special photographic display in the Southgate Room, upstairs in The Oaks.
“It won’t be as big at the 50th anniversary festival, but we are easing back into a bigger event post-covid,” Marnet says. “We need to keep to the festival to a size that is manageable with the resources we have.”
The festival programme is governed primarily by the number of people who are willing to help. Sponsorship is also a factor.
The budget for this year’s event will be around $35,000 so the committee would welcome enquiries from any businesses interested in promoting their brand at the festival.
The day will kick off at 9am, with the market finishing around 4pm and entertainment and food winding-up at 8pm.
Marnet says it’s an exhausting job getting everything organised, but the reward is seeing the crowds enjoying themselves.
“The one thing we don’t have control over is the weather so we will just have to keep our fingers crossed in that regard.”
Anyone interested in taking a stall at the market can find out more and register online at www.kowhaifestival.co.nz
