Kāpiti Coast’s rich heritage part of regional festival

Kāpiti Coast’s rich heritage is on show as part of the Wellington Heritage Festival which runs from 23 October – 5 November.

Kāpiti Coast District Mayor Janet Holborow is delighted that local heritage, cultural and creative organisations had got together under the umbrella Discover Kāpiti Heritage Group to host a major event called “Explore the Kāpiti Coast and discover its culture and heritage” for the duration of the festival.

“This is a fantastic showcase of the history and heritage, culture and creativity of our district and will be a standout feature of the whole festival, attracting visitors from across the wider region and beyond,” she said.

The local attractions taking part are: Paekākāriki Station Museum; Steam Incorporated; Wellington Tramway Museum; Kāpiti US Marines Trust; Kāpiti Aviation Museum; Southward Car Museum; Kāpiti Coast Museum; Toi MAHARA Art Gallery; and Ōtaki Museum.

Wellington Heritage Festival 2023 Festival Chair Dr Roger Blakeley said the event was going from strength to strength and has partnered with the Rotary Clubs of Wellington to deliver the 2023 Festival.

“The festival was first set up in 2017 to engage the public of Te Whanganui-a-Tara in our ‘People, Places, and Stories’. Rotary’s expertise and connections has been invaluable in furthering our mission this year.

“We have more events than ever spread further throughout the region,” Roger Blakeley said. “People from Kāpiti can also enjoy the treasure trove of history and heritage from across the region.”

“We have events centred on mana whenua histories, tours of graveyards and heritage landmarks, stories about well-known historic figures from the arts, culture, and rainbow communities, lots of vintage cars and machinery on show, and sneak peeks behind the scenes at Hannah Playhouse and City Archives.”

More than 100 events are on around Te-Whanganui-a-Tara from 23 October – 5 November, most of which are free or koha, but many need booking, so go to wellingtonheritagefestival.co.nz/events for the full list of events.

See more about the Kāpiti events at wellingtonheritagefestival.co.nz/event/explore-the-kapiti-coast and wellingtonheritagefestival.co.nz/event/home-entertainment-in-the-1900s