Captain Festus McBoyle's Travellin' Variety Show, coming to the Taupō Winter Festival Take 2! next month. Photo / Supplied
Captain Festus McBoyle's Travellin' Variety Show, coming to the Taupō Winter Festival Take 2! next month. Photo / Supplied
We're all a bit starved of socialising and good times out at present.
And for the last five years the Malcolm Flowers Insurances Taupō Winter Festival has been providing a range of fun, musical, arty, theatrical, family, food and drink, books and culture events to locals and visitors alike.
But the second part of this year's Taupō Winter Festival - known as Taupō Winter Festival - Take 2! is presently under a cloud and needs your support.
Traditionally held in July, the first part of the festival was held during the July school holidays as normal. That included the Ebbett Fun Zone, Wairakei Estate Ice Rink, the Rapids Jet Ice Slide, the Unison Light Hub and more.
Festival organisers, anticipating New Zealand would most probably be in in alert level 1 in October, also scheduled a Take 2! section of the Taupō Winter Festival for next month. Running from Friday October 2 to Sunday October 11, Take 2! includes seven ticketed events as well as crowd favourites the Kefi Roller Disco, the Pak'nSave Pancake Breakfast, Creation Station, youth talent quest, photography exhibition and more.
The ticketed events are the ever-popular music and drinks night, a play, a classical music concert, an author's event, a murder mystery dinner, a degustation dinner and a family vaudeville comedy show.
This year's music and drinks night is Crafty Covers, an evening of tasting craft beers and ciders as well as kicking up your heels to one of New Zealand's best covers bands, White Chapel Jak. It follows sell-out music and drinks events at previous festivals, among them Rum & Rock, Bourbon & Blues and Whisky & Jazz.
Covers band White Chapel Jak are a high-energy acoustic Kiwiana band playing at Crafty Covers at the 2020 Taupō Winter Festival. Photo / Supplied
But to allow the Take 2! festival events to go ahead, the organisers need locals to buy tickets and the timing is now critical.
Ticket sales were doing well until New Zealand outside of Auckland went into alert level two, limiting gatherings to fewer than 100 people with social distancing.
Festival director Nicola Carter says her team is trying its absolute best to keep the festival events in Taupō's calendar.
"Goodness knows we all deserve some socialising, fun and connection with our friends and family and something not to be cancelled," Nicola says.
"We will hold on as long as we can... there are only two reasons that Taupō Winter Festival – Take 2! will be cancelled. One - that we haven't sold enough tickets three weeks out from the event date or two; that we are in government restrictions that require a limit of 100 or fewer people gatherings."
Nicola says while the second reason is out of organisers and locals' control, the first one is up to the community and organisers have given themselves until the end of this week to sell enough tickets to cover the cost of bringing the artists to Taupō.
"Essentially if can get enough public support through ticket sales, which were going really well till the latest level change, and the Government allow us groups over more than 100 then we are all go."
A Traveller's Guide to Turkish Dogs is this year's Malcolm Flowers Insurances Taupō Winter Festival's key theatre event. Photo / Supplied
She's urging people to check out the programme at taupowinterfestival.co.nz and buy tickets immediately, at no risk of losing their money.
"We understand that these are uncertain times to be purchasing tickets and want to assure you that we will absolutely refund you 100 per cent if it can't go ahead," Nicola says. "Let's make this happen Taupō!"
Taupō Winter Festival Take 2! Ticketed Shows
Theatre: A Traveller's Guide to Turkish Dogs
Music: Crafty Covers - craft beer and cider with hot covers band White Chapel Jak.
