The future of Dunedin’s festival schedule is the past as a celebration of the city’s heritage is put into the works.
The Dunedin City Council has plans to team up with the Southern Heritage Trust to create a city-wide festival called "Foundations: Festival of Dunedin’s Past, Present and Future" which will replace the long-running Heritage Festival.
Southern Heritage Trust chairwoman Joy Baker said the festival would be "ground-breaking" and would build on Dunedin’s "rightful" place as the heritage capital of New Zealand.
"We have seen what other cities in Aotearoa have done with events around their own built heritage and architecture. However, we have the assets and the ambition to create a distinctly Dunedin heritage festival that can become a national and international drawcard."
She said the festival would allow Dunedin to keep celebrating its heritage in a "more inclusive, dynamic and relevant" way.
"Heritage is not static — it lives in our streets, our communities and our creativity."
The Heritage Festival was often run by a dedicated group of volunteers on "the smell of an oily rag".
"Increased support by DCC is fantastic news and the event will be a great asset to our city and the annual events calendar."
It was being created in close collaboration with Enterprise Dunedin and had a strong focus on long-term sustainability, accessibility and community involvement.
As part of community engagement, festival organisers would be at the George St Market today to get feedback and ideas on programming from the public.
The new festival is scheduled to launch in 2027, with further programme details, partnerships and announcements to be released over the coming months. — Allied Media
