Wellington Heritage Festival reaches Wairarapa

Wairarapa this year will join the Greater Wellington region by taking part in the recently-minted Wellington Heritage Festival which will host 140 events across the region over three weeks from October 26. 

Eleven of the events will take place in the Wairarapa, with the rest stretching from Upper Hutt to the Kapiti Coast

“Heritage New Zealand’s mission statement of ‘Honouring the Past, Inspiring the Future’ captures the purpose of the festival,” chair Roger Blakeley said in a statement.

This year’s festival starts on Saturday, October 26 (Labour Day weekend) and runs to Sunday November 17.

“We will be nominating the Wairarapa as the focus area on the weekend of November 16 and 17, which are the final two days and climax of the festival”, Blakeley said.

The Wairarapa events will include four tours run by the Wairarapa Archives, a wheelwrighting experience at the Wheelwright Hub in Gladstone, a historic film event with a focus on Masterton’s Queen St, and an event focussed on wetland restoration at Lake Wairarapa.

Community groups and organisations have been invited to host and stage their own events 

Communities, iwi, organisations, and individuals around the Greater Wellington Region can register events to ensure they are publicised across the region.

Organisers last month visited Wairarapa’s three  mayors along with leaders from Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa to invite them to host events sharing the stories of  places in the region.