Light up the winter evenings
Light-up giant sculptures, luminous flora and fauna, and interactive installations are heading to Kiwi Park for the winter. From Friday, LUMA Enchanted will take over in the evenings, offering a family-friendly night-walk adventure, exploring a mystical forest inhabited by immersive light installations.
Screentime New Zealand and Remarkables Studios jumped on board with the event this year, after LUMA had considered taking a break. Philly de Lacey, CEO of the companies, became inspired after the drama series A Remarkable Place to Die filmed at the event last year. She approached the team, wanting to do something with them, and that’s where LUMA Enchanted was created.
“I think it’s such a cool event. Our television creative brains go crazy when we think of what we can do with storytelling and I love the idea of taking it off screen,” de Lacey says.
The partnership worked out perfectly, and it wasn’t too long before they were working together to find the perfect site, which is where Kiwi Park enter the story. Everyone involved is now really excited to see the passion project all come to life. de Lacey says that owners of the park, the Wilson family, have been great to deal with.
“They were at a point where they were quite keen to explore how they could expand their conservation efforts, so everything came together at the right time, as things often do.”
The goal was to pull together something quite bespokely Kiwi – something that will entertain all ages and whisk you away to an enchanted land, with family storytelling at its heart. Think Alice in Wonderland meets Dr Seuss, with a dash of Aotearoa charm thrown in. They’ve collaborated with new and past teams to make it happen.
“We have crafted, not a story, but a narrative that I think is super fun and super whimsical. It’s just been a really great partnership and seeing this mash up of talent and what it’s producing has just been beyond spectacular. I’m so excited about how it’s all going together in the park and what this world is going to be, and hopefully how much people are going to enjoy it.”
In addition to the lights, there’ll be music and tasty treats to keep you going. You also have the option to include a Kiwi encounter, where you’ll get and up-close-and-personal viewing experience. de Lacey explains that everyone involved has been super focused on nailing the brief of enchanting and whimsical, and that shines through in all the event is offering.
“I think that the soundscape that Mike Hodgson is producing is just off the charts amazing – I’d go to the park just to listen to that alone. That combined with the sculptures that John Allen’s team have been building, and the sense of humour of it. We’ve partnered with Damien from Momentos to do all the food and beverage offering, and he’s gone down the rabbit hole with us.”
One notable difference is the change in artists presenting their installations – this year they will be working with a select number of artists to create a curated event. de Lacey explains that it’s their way of taking their storytelling from onscreen to offscreen, and they had to structure it slightly differently to make it work.
They’ve not deviated so far from what LUMA has been though, you can expect the unexpected. The idea of the event is that from the moment you walk through the tunnel at the Kiwi Park, until the moment you leave, you’ll feel like you’re in a magical world.
“It should be funny and delightful, a little bit scary at moments, and hopefully a great experience for everyone,” de Lacey says.
LUMA Enchanted will light up Kiwi Park each night in winter and goes into Spring – until 5 October. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. You can grab tickets and find out more information at luma.nz
