A previous community event held by Love Rimurimu. Photo: Supplied / Love Rimurimu
After the loss of the Homegrown music festival in the capital, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a brand new festival has been announced.
While it is not a music festival, organiser Zoe Studd has promised a sea shanty sing-along at New Zealand's first-ever Seaweed Festival.
The festival would celebrate the underwater forests of Te Whanganui-a-Tara, with events happening across Wellington from 1-9 March, she said.
"We've got a really fun mix of things on our programme."
More than 30 different seaweed-themed events have been planned, including a seaweed tattoo 'flash' day, edible seaweed tastings, behind-the-scenes tours of Te Papa's seaweed collections, expert talks, a mystery movie night at the Roxy, seaweed film and photography exhibitions, and a sea shanty sing-along to close out the festival.
There are plenty of events on the festival timetable. Photo: Supplied / Love Rimurimu
The festival is being organised by Love Rimurimu - a programme of Mountains to Sea Wellington, which began as an education programme in 2020 before evolving into an active restoration project.
"Not a lot of people know about, or care about, seaweed," Studd said.
"Internationally, we have seen successful seaweed festivals around the globe that have helped grow people's understanding and connect local communities to seaweed forests through the arts, science education, and community events. Now it's our turn.
"We hope to see the same success here, while raising the profile of the Love Rimurimu project and the need for seaweed restoration work.
"The programme is designed to provide a variety of ways for everyone to get to know and fall in love with rimurimu."
With thousands expected to attend Seaweed Festival 2025 in March, Studd hoped it would become a permanent fixture on the capital's festival calendar.
"This could be the new festival. We'll take over the role of Homegrown."
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