Festival of Lights
Our Stories: Issue 59
The TSB Festival of Lights ran from 19th December to 31st January 2021. This is New Zealand’s leading light festival and it brings thousands of visitors to Taranaki, boosting the economy by more than $5 million dollars.
The festival comprises six weeks of free lighting, entertainment and music at Pukekura Park, with programmes for seniors and children’s entertainment.
Hayley Olliver, Events Lead, said the New Plymouth District Council offers fresh and innovative light displays to the community each year. “This year we had 16 new installations including two displays built in Australia specifically for Pukekura Park – Lily Pads and Wise Monkeys.”
A grant of $110k from the TSB Community Trust funded free buses to the festival. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with compliments for the accessibility programme and the variety of music and light installations. “This is an amazing platform for New Plymouth’s local artists to perform and rub shoulders with some of the best in the industry,” Hayley said.
In recent years, 150,000 people have attended the festival. “Because the festival is free, it allows everyone to experience the magic,” Hayley said.