Held after dark at the First Church on Friday and Saturday, the annual event featured moving acts, musicians and aerial displays which incorporated Māori storytelling.
Event manager Xanthe Naylor said 8300 people attended the carnival across the weekend, which sold out on Saturday.
She was glad the weather had been pleasant for the event and ‘‘all the performances looked stunning’’.
‘‘We've had lots of great feedback,’’ she said.
‘‘We just hope [people] feel inspired in the darkest times of winter, that they come together in the community, and that they remember there's light in the world when it's dark,’’ she said.
She acknowledged the ‘‘massive effort’’ from about 100 event volunteers.
One new feature of the carnival was live storytelling and music while aerial dancers performed in a tree.
‘‘We've had aerials in the past, but not with live storytelling and instruments, musicians playing,’’ she said.
The act told a story of lizards in the ancient forest which wanted to eat moths before the moth entranced them.
The lizards remembered the moths were ‘‘very sacred and special to the forest’’ and decided not to eat them, she said.
Another highlight was watching the children make lanterns and being part of the procession of attendees, dancers and musicians, Miss Naylor said.
‘‘We've put a lot of effort into making [the procession] bigger and making it more of a spectacle and involving more kids and groups,’’ she said.
