Whanganui's winter celebration of women is about to kick off on Saturday, July 30, running for two weeks right through until August 13. The seventh annual Winter Wonderfest is the biggest yet, with about 55 events being delivered by about 50 festival partners across the community. The festival aims to connect, empower and inspire, and the range of events appeals to all ages and stages, meaning there is something for everyone.
The Winter Wonderfest began as a collaboration between Carla Donson of the Women's Network, and Sarah Williams at Space Studio and Gallery back in 2015. Having collaborated for many years during La Fiesta and several fundraising initiatives, Carla and Sarah saw an opportunity to enliven the community during the winter months. By drawing on several partnerships that had been strengthened through La Fiesta celebrations, the Winter Wonderfest seemed like a good chance to continue growing this success.
In her role at the Women's Network, Carla had also observed over the years how the winter months can affect people's sense of connection within the community. The colder and shorter days can lead to a desire to hibernate, and for women living on their own, or who feel isolated in some way, this can feel like quite a challenging season to navigate. The reality of Seasonal Affective Disorder can also play out during this time, with fewer daylight hours resulting in a drop in serotonin levels, affecting mood and motivation in some people. With these factors in mind, a winter programme of events and activities to entice folk out of their homes to share skills, experience something new, and to meet others, seemed like a bright idea. The festival themes, :connect, empower, inspire", developed directly from this essence.
Sarah sees the festival as an opportunity to continue building on the strong sense of connection that Space Studio and Gallery has developed within the creative community. It also enables her to diversify the range of events and activities on offer to complement the dynamic exhibitions programme, with a focus on delivering child and family-friendly opportunities. This festival features offerings from her studio artists, group and solo exhibitions strongly featuring women, ceramics workshops, and music.
The spirit of togetherness is strong in St Hill St, with the Women's Network being located in the Ladies' Rest Building at No.75 (where they have been for more than 35 years), and Space Studio and Gallery going from strength to strength with the recent purchase of No. 18. Being only a block away from each other has its advantages, and it has also been wonderful to capitalise upon the heritage and history of the buildings and the street. It is no coincidence the Royal Whanganui Opera House features regularly in the Winter Wonderfest programme, conveniently located right next door to the Ladies' Rest Building. Of course, the collaborations continue across the community, with event locations making the most of downtown but also taking in many of Whanganui's diverse suburbs, finishing with the final festival event seaside at Castlecliff Beach.
