The Wānaka Festival of Colour 2023 approaches
The countdown is on to the start of the tenth Wānaka Festival of Colour which gets underway on Sunday 26th March with an official opening at 3pm at the iconic Dinosaur Park.
Wānaka: home to The Wānaka Tree, Roy’s Peak and a breathtaking, glacial alpine lake. In summer, it’s a bolt-hole for trampers, campers and holiday makers; in winter, the snow bunnies flock from around the globe to enjoy the skifields and back country in all their snow-clad finery. Not to be underestimated, though (and what we all know already), is what the region has to offer in autumn, the autumn colours appear, turning the hills and lakefront tracks into a riot of golds, reds and oranges, they form the backdrop to a very different kind of stage.
Every other year, the streets and venues of Wānaka and the surrounding area come alive for a weeklong celebration of the arts. The biennial Wānaka Festival of Colour, is known for punching well above its weight, bringing the best of the worlds of dance, music, theatre and cabaret together.
Just a stone’s throw from the CBD’s restaurants and bars rises the magnificent Pacific Crystal Palace, the hub for the festival and host to many of the larger performances. Cross the road and you will find yourself on the shores of Lake Wānaka, surely one of the most spectacular outlooks in the area.
For the opera lovers, Grammy award winning NZ tenor, Simon O’Neill will be performing alongside chamber artists NZ Trio during an evening featuring Mahler’s Lieder and a selection of Strauss Lieder. If contemporary music is more your thing, the much-loved Phoenix Foundation will be bringing their blend of pop, psychedelic rock and tight harmonies to the Southern Alps when they close off the festival in style. Eclectic as that might sound, that’s nothing compared to Otto & Astrid, rockstars and completely dysfunctional siblings from Berlin band “Die Roten Punkte”. It’s hard to describe them: imagine the Pixies crossed with the B52s and Kraftwerk with some Ramones thrown in for good measure.
While not for the faint-hearted, The Savage Coloniser Show will be a night to remember. Inspired by the poetry of Tusiata Avia, The Savage Coloniser Show examines the legacy of James Cook and Australia’s contemporary policies around the treatment of refugees, moments that are interspersed with tender reflections of a mother’s love for her child. It’s complex, it’s fiery and it deserves to be seen.
A highlight of the Wānaka Festival of Colour is always the Wānaka New World Community Day, when the streets of Wānaka take centre stage for a variety of free performances for all the family. Local dance schools United Dance Crew and Centralpoint Dance will be showcasing new works outside Kai Whakapai and on the new marina respectively while some spectacular circus skills will be on display courtesy of two groups: Biggest Little Circus and Silk & Circus. There’ll be a relationship advice bureau thanks to Melbourne couple, Jim and Barb, live music from local bands, and performances from Southern Lakes groups including Wasabi, Queenstown’s Japanese Community Choirs.
So, grab your diaries and head to the Wānaka Festival of Colour website for a full programme and to secure your tickets to a week of laughter and revelry. Immerse yourself in the arts, Wānaka style. Tickets are still available for many Festival performances at www.festivalofcolour.co.nz
The Wānaka Festival of Colour runs from March 26 – April 2, 2023 in and around Wānaka.
