Motueka Kai Fest

Sunday, April 7th 2019

10am - 3pm

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Motueka Kai Fest is a wonderful signature event held each year during harvest time (autumn) to remind ourselves and tell the world about the great food produced in the Motueka area. And to have a lot of fun! 

Motueka grows great food, thanks to outstanding water, soil, climate and people; and the Kai Fest brings together our community of many cultures to learn more about and honour one thing which we all have in common - Kai (the Maori word for food).

The 2019 event will take place on Sunday, April 7th,  from 10am to 3pm on Decks Reserve in the centre of town.  (If too wet, it will be on the following Sunday, April 14th.)

As well as the huge range of food and food-related stalls running throughout the day, the highlight of the event will be the parade starting at 11 a.m. This is a celebratory, colourful and noisy tribute to the four elements - earth, water, air and fire.

A series of stalls and displays will be set up by set up by local food businesses showing their wares. 

We invite people and community groups to apply for stall space to display and sell their foods and other food-related products. To apply, please click on this link and fill in the form online: Apply for a Motueka Kai Fest stall here 

Entertainment through the day features a great variety of local musicians and artists. Bands will play from the performance stage, but there will also be roving entertainers at spots around the reserve. As well, there will be a large area set aside for educational games, circus performers and aerial skills. Plus a bungy trampoline for teenagers and adults (small charges apply) and a free bouncy castle course for the kids.

The 2019 Entertainment Schedule

10am  Jess and Tagan (Motueka High school)
10.15  Not yet discovered (Ngatimoti school)
10.30  Tobias - magic show
10.50  Florian and Kids (environmental songs, Riverside)
11.10  Parade
11.40  Sambassadors (Brazilian Dance Group,Nelson)
12.00  Kapa Haka  (children from Te Awhina Marae and Parklands school)
12.15  Kath Bee - kids entertainment
12.45  The Twisty Twins - Ariel Show
1.05    XR - activist poetry
1.15    Firebird Circus
1.30    Buskadara - Funk/Jazz Band from Nelson
1.30    InsideOut Circus and Physical Theatre's roving performance
2.25    One Voice (singing trio Riverside)
2.30   Stitched up - local Rock Band

Contact us: To find out more about preparations for the event, email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or go to our Facebook page, "Motueka Kai Fest".

Sponsors and Supporters: We gratefully acknowledge the organisations that have contributed financially to the creation and running of this event. Our funders and financial supporters include:

  • Rata Foundation - for the third year
  • Lion Foundation - also for the third year
  • Wakatū Incorporation
  • Ngāti Rārua Ātiawa Iwi Trust
  • Turners & Growers Global Ltd
  • Tasman District Council
  • Motueka Community Store
  • Mitre 10
  • Our Town Motueka
  • Rotary
  • New World
  • Golden Bay Fruit & Birdhurst
  • CW Drill

Well known for its apples, pears, kiwifruit, grapes and wineries, hops and brewers, ciders, boysenberries and other berry crops, herbs, and seafood (the home of Talley's), the Motueka area is one of the most important and productive food basket regions in New Zealand, and the Motueka community is proud to celebrate this.

The event organisers - a group of people from across the Motueka community - aim to renew awareness around harvest time each year of this special part of Motueka life and celebrate it through community gathering, fun, pageantry, sharing of cultures, sampling and learning.

Many people living here do not fully appreciate how lucky we are, how important local food production and quality food is in our changing world, and how much the future of our town depends on a thriving and evolving food production sector. Visitors also are often surprised by how fertile and productive the Motueka District is.

Motueka Kai Fest involves the participation of people from across the whole community as participants, entertainers, artists, food processors, teachers, demonstrators and onlookers. The involvement of schools, community groups, food businesses and producers, and the range of ethnicities (including popular RSE workers) and cultures in the region are central to the celebration.

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