A REAL New Zealand Festival
Rugby is an integral part of being a Kiwi and Rugby World Cup 2011 is destined to turn New Zealand into a non-stop party zone called the REAL New Zealand Festival.
The festival is a nationwide celebration of New Zealand arts, heritage, culture, entertainment, business, food and wine which will run from 9 September - 23 October 2011 to complement the Rugby World Cup schedule.
From kai Māori / native foods to fine wine, from bungy jumping to waka / canoe racing - visitors will have the chance to experience something of what it means to be a ‘Kiwi.’
Named as number two of the top nine destinations for 2011 by global broadcasting network CNN, the Rugby World cup is set to add extra excitement to an already popular destination.
REAL New Zealand
A celebration of all things Kiwis love most about New Zealand, the REAL New Zealand festival will give rugby fans the chance to add a rich layer to their Rugby World Cup 2011 experience.
And while the New Zealand 2011 office is a government initiative, the festival will be largely driven by the regions.
Festival director Briony Ellis says the festival will include over one thousand events, some which have been moved to coincide with the Rugby World Cup.
"There’ll be plenty of time between matches so we want to encourage people to take the long way around from one match to the next and meet the people," says Ellis.
Ellis says there will be something for everyone whether visitors are interested in wine and food, on a boys’ trip, or want to experience heartland New Zealand.
Events highlighting the array of activities and landmarks can be found on the nz2011.govt.nz website.
New Zealand culture
The REAL New Zealand Festival is a visitor’s ticket to experience the real New Zealand, the way New Zealanders do - a multi-cultural South Pacific nation with a distinct indigenous culture.
New Zealanders of Māori descent account for over 14% of the population, and their unique language and ways have significantly influenced the Kiwi lifestyle.
Major cultural events during the REAL NZ festival will include the Māori Art Market at Porirua (near Wellington), and the Mataatua Iwi Challenge in the Bay of Plenty.
New Zealand’s largest sale of Māori art, the Māori Art Market features 200-plus Māori artists selling and demonstrating the arts of carving, sculpture, weaving, pounamu / greenstone and jewellery making.
The Mataatua Iwi Challenge brings together Māori who trace their origins to the Mataatua waka for an authentic challenge series featuring sports and activities promoting fun and active well-being. The amazing spectator sports include Māori cultural components such as the haka / challenge and poi / rhythmic dance, as well as indigenous foods.
New Zealand arts
Art galleries up and down the country will host exhibitions featuring prominent New Zealand artists, Māori artifacts, films, and honouring New Zealand’s All Black heroes.
New Zealand’s rugby culture comes under the lens in the ‘Hard on the Heels’ exhibition of sporting images by Kiwi photographer Peter Bush which will show concurrently in four locations during Rugby World Cup.
Bush describes capturing an All Black game as "a total workout", and his shots are hard earned - the result of 60 years of tirelessly chasing the players up and down the field.
In the Wellington suburb of Miramar, Weta Cave gives visitors a behind-the-scenes look at Weta Workshop, famous for its design and effects work on award-winning major film projects including the Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong and Avatar.
The mini museum will include interviews with Weta co-founders Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger and Jamie Selkirk, and gives an exclusive insight into the creativity and imagination that goes into crafting the art of Weta.
The Rugby Comedy Festival has been designed to give visitors a good time before the serious business of rugby takes over. Hosted by Kiwi comedian Oscar Kightley, the line-up includes Ian Robertson - a former international rugby player and commentator for the BBC, and ex-All Black and Sevens champion Eric Rush - one of the funniest Kiwi rugby blokes you could meet.
Best NZ wine and food
The Real New Zealand festival will provide tourists with an opportunity to sample the finest of local flavours - whether it’s crayfish in Kaikōura, oysters in Bluff, whitebait on the West Coast, or kiwifruit in Te Puke, each region has its own unique flavour.
New Zealand has a variety of premium specialty foods, from dairy, meat and seafood to fruit and vegetables, and the food and beverage industry is central to the country’s economy and culture.
The Bluff Oyster season usually runs from 1 March until June / July but in 2011 - for the first time ever - there'll be two seasons. A portion of the main season quota, drawn from the cold southern ocean, will be kept in growing tanks to fatten up for RWC 2011 visitors - offering an extra special season of big, tasty shellfish.
More than 50 farmers’ markets throughout New Zealand will provide visitors with weekly opportunities to sample fresh and local food while meeting the friendly locals.
For wine connoisseurs, New Zealand’s top wine regions - Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay, Central Otago and Gisborne - will all hold wine festivals so visitors can sample their internationally sought-after premium quality wines.
Wine is a NZ$1 billion-plus export industry for New Zealand, boosted by the combination of unique regional terroir and maritime climate that result in pure and vibrant wines.
Background: Rugby World Cup 2011
The six-week Rugby World Cup Tournament 2011 will be the biggest event ever held in New Zealand, and is expected to attract around 85,000 visitors during September and October.
Rugby World Cup games have been scheduled for 12 locations, and the visiting rugby teams will be based in 23 towns and cities - all of which are in the thick of planning locally flavoured "home-town" welcomes for the visitors.
Wellington is planning a rugby village centered around a giant wharewaka / canoe house on the waterfront, while Auckland has also planned a distinctive waterfront development in the central city.
While Queenstown - New Zealand’s adventure capital - isn’t hosting any games, it is still immersed in the Cup and expecting to draw large crowds to its lakefront fan zone.
More information
Quick guide to Rugby World Cup 2011
Rugby World Cup 2011 host towns
Rugby World Cup match venues
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www.newzealand.com Pages
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Other Sites
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| NZ food and wine - Bluff oysters |
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| Maori culture - kapa haka performance |
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| NZ art - pounamu tiki by Lewis Gardiner |
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| Real New Zealand Festival will showcase the best of Kiwi food, wine, culture, heritage, sports and nature |
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