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Northlanders urged to come up with festival ideas for 2011

The Government recently announced a new $9.5 million Lotteries Fund to support community events and activities in every part of the country in the lead-up to and during the Rugby World Cup.

 

“The Rugby World Cup will be a milestone event for New Zealand, and a great opportunity for us to celebrate as a nation,” says Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully.

 

“Twenty-three centres are hosting games or teams, so the celebrations, and the economic benefits, are already going to be spread around. But this funding will ensure that spread goes even further.

 

“This fund will complement the significant investment regions are already making in the nationwide festival. There are already some great ideas for events and activities and we want to hear more.”

 

Applications for the New Zealand 2011 Festival Lottery Fund are now open and close on September 17, with the successful individuals and groups to be announced in November. Funding decisions will be made by five prominent New Zealanders who are part of the Government’s 2011 Group – Bob Parker, Sharon Hunter, Wally Stone, Bob Harvey and Sir David Gascoigne.

 

New Zealand 2011 Office Festival Director, Briony Ellis, says Northland has already put forward some great ideas for the festival, and this fund will ensure more good ideas can be brought to life.

 

“We know Northlanders have great ideas about how to showcase their region’s heritage, arts, food and wine, entertainment, experiences and lifestyle,” she said.

 

“There will be plenty of time between games, so we want to encourage both international visitors and travelling Kiwis to take the long way around from one match to the next, and see the country and meet the people. The festival will be a great way to do that.”

 

Briony Ellis says the Festival Programme already features some quintessentially Kiwi events, like the Wild Foods and Whitebait Challenge on the West Coast, an encore Bluff oyster season, waka racing and woodskills and contemporary and traditional Māori arts and performance festivals throughout the country.

 

Events organisers throughout Northland are encouraged to build on their local programmes and take their new or emerging ideas to the local Rugby World Cup coordination group – Northland 2011 - for discussion. All communities are invited to develop project outlines, with supporting budget plans and to submit their applications to this new Lottery committee fund.

  

"Northland is working up some very exciting festival showcase plans for the whole region and some very imaginative events and experiences that will get visitors off the beaten track and engaged with local people and stories. From the Bay of Islands Seafood Tournament to the Kauri Museum at Matakohe, there is so much to bring people to the north."

 

The group co-ordinating the North’s Rugby World Cup 2011 planning and operational delivery is Northland 2011. Regional Festival Co-ordinator Kate Claydon is keen to hear from groups considering staging a festival event in Northland during the six-weeks of the 2011 Tournament.  Kate can be contacted on 021 029 27171 or via email: kate@collectiveconcepts.co.nz

 

The NZ 2011 Festival Lottery Fund will be administered by the Department of Internal Affairs. The funding has been allocated by the Lottery Grants Board, which distributes the profits of New Zealand Lotteries (including Lotto and Instant Kiwi) to various statutory bodies and distribution committees.

 

For more information on the Fund, visit:  www.dia.govt.nz

For more information on the Festival, visit: www.nz2011.govt.nz

 

Further information: Northland 2011 Regional Festival Co-ordinator Kate Claydon 021 029 27171, email: kate@collectiveconcepts.co.nz

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