Nelson’s city centre will transform into a winter wonderland of colour and light tonight, marking the beginning of Te Ramaroa.
Te Ramaroa, formerly Light Nelson, will see a trail of 40 light installations across the city for the five-night festival.
It has a wide footprint across the city, with the trail of carefully curated installations placed around the Nelson CBD, the Cathedral gardens, Morrison Square, NMIT and various streets and laneways, as well as in Queens Gardens and Albion Square.
This year’s installations have been created by a diverse range of locals including school children, NMIT students, artists, community groups, architects, scientists, and even dentists.
Alongside them, there are some of the country’s top light-installation designers, bringing their creations to brighten up our city streets, laneways and gardens.
Nelson Intermediate School have been working on their installations for weeks.
The students will have a series of tents displayed in the Cathedral gardens, each one telling its own stories via silhouette.
NIS STEAM leader Sarah Johns says the focus this year was on creating wonder that will take even the most mature mind back to childhood memories.
“We started with understanding how light and shadows work,” she says. “Then the challenge was to create an experience that uses light and shadows to provoke a sense of wonder and joy for our community.”
She says the experience - a first for many - has involved a lot of learning, with trial and error, taking risks and trying again when things don’t work out.
“A lot of them have attended Te Ramaroa as children, so have experienced being able to connect to this sense of wonder and what it is to move around the city and how exciting it is - to then be part of that was an easy connection.”
Every tent will have two scenes, and each will have different light treatment.
Event director Michaela Blackman says Te Ramaroa is genuinely a unique event.
“There are so many talented people in Nelson with their ideas and imagination literally lighting up our city, the stellar line-up of musicians and performers on the Community Stage, and the phenomenal crew that bring it all together.
“We’ve worked hard to present an event that is truly accessible to as many people as possible, by keeping it free, by giving plenty of room for people to move between installations, and by nurturing and encouraging a broad cross-section of our community to take part. It all comes together to show Nelson Whakatū at its best.”
Upper Trafalgar St will be a gathering point with a Community Stage, the Info Hub, and Selwyn St, which is closed to allow safer access to the Church Steps and Cathedral Gardens.
There will also be a Food Hub in Kirby Lane, as well as other food vendors in upper Trafalgar and Morrison Square. Te Ramaroa has also been encouraging local restaurants and cafés to stay open.
The Community Stage will feature a line-up of local musicians and performers. There are also dance performances at Cultural Conversations (Morrison Square), an aerial performance near the Church Steps, and glassblowing demonstrations in flamedaisy studio on Trafalgar Square.
At the Refinery ArtSpace, visitors can take a moment to listen to the stories of Matariki, with Te Oro Hā collective creating a sanctuary of projections and recordings of artwork, waiata and spoken word.
Chairman of the trust, Annette Milligan, says they know how much people love Te Ramaroa and have high expectations
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“This year, we’re confident that the variety of awesome installations will show Nelson in a whole new light, and create a truly memorable experience for everyone.”
Te Ramaroa is a free event which runs from 5.30pm - 9.30pm, 30 June until 4 July.
