A Taste of Matarangi festival committee have announced that they have made the tough decision to cancel the iconic local event for 2022 and are now looking to 2023 for potential dates.
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A Taste of Matarangi festival committee have been working since early 2021 to prepare for the festival that was scheduled to be held on 9 April this year. However, with the Governments red traffic light announcement this weekend, and the uncertainty of how long this will be in place, the committee decided the best decision was to cancel.
UNCERTAIN ENVIRONMENT TO PLAN EVENTS
It takes the volunteer committee at least seven months of planning and preparation for the A Taste of Matarangi festival.
With the threat of community spread of the Omicron variant, restrictions of 100 people on public events at traffic light red, and the complexity of managing events in the current environment, the committee have reluctantly decided it was the best decision to cancel the popular festival for 2022. We are hugely proud of the event, and had a significant amount of planning in place, including an excellent line up of New Zealand artists. Our festival committee have worked hard to negotiate the challenges and uncertainty of providing this event. It was an extremely difficult decision to make knowing the work that has already been put into the event and that it will be a huge disappointment to everyone involved.
Dan Amosa – A Taste of Matarangi Festival Coordinator
ACKNOWLEDGING THE LOCAL IMPACT
The festival committee want to acknowledge the local community and feel for local businesses who will be impacted by this year's cancellation. The committee are supported by many local sponsors, artists, stall vendors, volunteers and community groups whose support has enabled them to deliver this very successful event in previous years.
We would like thank our loyal and passionate audiences. We want them to know that we are looking to the future and sincerely hope to celebrate another festival with you again, when the time is right. We really thank everyone for their support and understanding!
A Taste of Matarangi Festival Committee
INFORMATION FOR TICKET REFUNDS
Members of the public who purchased tickets from October 2021 for the festival will be contacted directly by the A Taste of Matarangi Festival committee with more information.
A TASTE OF MATARANGI FESTIVAL BACKGROUND
The festival is organised and run by a dedicated volunteer committee and was first held in 2013 on the Village Green in Matarangi. It has attracted thousands of attendees with its village beachside vibe, great music, local food, craft beers and wine.
Since its inception the festival has contributed to the local economy, and raised over $90,000 through its fundraising and donations to benefit local charity groups including Kuaotunu Land Search and Rescue and Coromandel Rescue Helicopter.
The committee had to cancel the 2020 festival due to Covid-19 Level lockdown restrictions and the 2021 festival due to the uncertainty and restrictions around public events.
