Full of fantastic fun, wonderful workshops and performances that you can be in or enjoy watching. With food trucks, performers and amazing art installations, there’s lots to see and do – and it’s all FREE!
This is when all of the festival elements come together and ignite an explosion of exuberant community creativity. With a Wild Arrivals puppet parade, a stage with live music, a performance from Hutt’s Got Talent and Pimp My Jacket winners, street theatre, food stalls and more, Saturday night is going to go off!
Bring a mask, a lantern, a lit up bike, wheelchair, mobility scooter or pushchair and be part of the festivities. If you didn’t get a chance to make one, there’ll be spare lanterns and mask making stations where you can whip up a mask and join the fun.
Saturday 18_August 2-10PM, Dowse Square – 45 Laings Road, Lower Hutt
Kai
There will be plenty of food from the food trucks parked up alongside Dowse Square.
Wet weather
If wet, the event will be inside The Dowse and Town Hall. Check the Hutt Winter Festival Facebook page for updates.
Programme
Check out the schedule below or view the full event listings. Times and performances may be subject to change – keep an eye on the Hutt Winter Festival Facebook page for the latest updates.
| TIME | EVENT |
| 2-5PM | FREE WORKSHOPS Mask making, poi making, weaving, Bollywood dancing and more @ The Dowse. |
| 2-5PM | BIKE ILLUMINATING STATION AND LANTERN WORKSHOP Light up your wheels for the Illuminated Bike Parade, or make a lantern for the Lighting Our Ancestral Pathways procession. |
| 2-10PM | COMMUNITY LABYRINTH A large, walkable labyrinth by Tape Art NZ and Hutt communities will be installed in Dowse Square. As you journey through the winding path you may discover a sense of renewal and elation. The artists will be there to share the stories behind the artwork and answer questions. |
| 5-10PM | PERFORMERS, PARADES, FOOD AND EXHIBITIONS Check out the performers, get kai from the food trucks, visit shows at The Dowse, join in or watch the parades, walk the Labyrinth and groove to the vibes at the main stage. |
| 5.30-6PM | WILD ARRIVAL PUPPET PARADE Join the Wild Arrivals Puppet Parade and the roving Dixie-land band, Swing Gigilos as they lead us through the Riddiford Gardens to the Lucid DreamBikes Illuminated Bike Parade. |
| 6-7PM | ILLUMINATED BIKE PARADE Assemble 5.30pm at the Cenotaph outside the Lower Hutt War Memorial Library with your illuminated wheels. The parade starts at 6.00pm and will roll through Riddiford Gardens to Dowse Square. Accompanied by the Swing Gigilos, this will be an awesome spectacle, and anyone is welcome to join. |
| 7-8PM | LIGHTING OUR ANCESTRAL PATHWAYS This is a magical Lucid DreamBike ceremony with music, performers, illuminated bike floats and film projections. Lanterns hung along the pathway represent loved ones whom we carry with us in our hearts, the light of our lives. |
| 8-10PM | FESTIVAL STAGE The stage opens for a night of entertainment from local musicians and performers. The winners of Pimp My Jacket and Hutt’s Got Talent will perform. |