A festival to celebrate the Manawatū River and its catchment is taking place at Hardie Reserve beside the Fitzherbert Bridge in Palmerston North.
Te Oranga o te Awa – Manawatū River Improvement Festival - is hosted by the Manawatū River Leaders' Forum, which is made up of iwi/hapū, industry, farming, environmental, recreational leaders and local government representatives, including Tararua mayor Tracey Collis.
The leaders' forum has been in existence since 2010.
All members are signatories to the Manawatū River Leaders' Accord and have pledged to improve the state of the river.
Independent chairman Richard Thompson says the festival aims to provide the community with an opportunity to enjoy the river environment and learn about work under way to improve and enhance the river and catchment.