Weekend Event: Tauranga Coffee Festival takes place at Our Place on Willow Street

Coffee lovers rejoice! All your dreams are about to come true with the return of a coffee festival in the heart of Tauranga's CBD.

The Tauranga Coffee Festival is the first of many events planned at Our Place, an events area created at the site of the former Tauranga City Council building on Willow St.

Our Place director Rachelle Duffy said she and her team had been doing events for more than 10 years now and understood what was trending "so street food and coffee are something that is a popular thing to do with all age groups".

"We put on the Tauranga Coffee Festival last year, and it was a huge success, so have decided to carry it through each year and grow it each year."

There will be 10 coffee brands involved, and each stall will bring their own baristas. But it's not all coffee.

"We will also have the tea vendors and other vendors catering for coffee inspired items."

Alcohol and punch will be on offer too as leaseholders within Our Place Tauranga will be operating.

Duffy said Our Place Tauranga was an events space and would only be open on Saturday for ticket holders before opening to the wider public on Sunday.

The area will then close for a week to finish renovations before opening on August 4.

"We are having an official opening on August 25 called "Party at Our Place" - which will be a free day out for the family with loads of free activities such as face painting, entertainment, live music, photo booth."

Duffy said the festival was for people of all ages. Children under 12 are free "so the whole family can come".

"We have face painting, live music, street food, shopping, a latte art competition plus family games, so there is so much for everyone," Duffy said.

Downtown Tauranga's Sally Cooke said she was looking forward to the festival.

"Downtown Tauranga is just so excited that Our Place is opening with the coffee festival. To see an event of such calibre coming to revitalise our city, we definitely support that."

Tauranga Coffee Festival

What: Coffee, tea, alcohol, live music, face painting, street food, shopping, games.
Where: Our Place, 91 Willow St
When: Saturday, 10am to 6pm
Cost: $16.25. Tickets from Eventfinda NZ. Children under 12 free.