Wellington Festivals and Annual Events
A capital city of festivals, from street parades to wearable art.
Wellington calls itself the cultural capital, and its calendar backs that up. Summer, from December to March, brings outdoor concerts, fun runs and the CubaDupa street festival; winter is the season for Matariki, the Maori new year, the jazz festival and Wellington on a Plate; and spring brings the World of WearableArt show, the city's best-known event.
Many festivals take place on the waterfront and in the Te Aro streets around Cuba Street. Big events such as WOW fill hotels, so book well ahead if your dates overlap.
Annual Festivals and Events
A mass fun run and walk around the bays of the inner harbor.
A weekend street festival of music, parades and performance across the Cuba Street quarter.
Celebrations of the Maori new year, with fireworks and light shows on the harbor.
International and local jazz in venues across the city.
Festival menus, food events and the Burger Wellington competition across the region.
A theatrical international design competition where the garments are works of art.
A wine, food and music festival hosted by Martinborough wineries.
Large craft and produce fairs filling the village square and streets.
Dates move from year to year — confirm on the organizer’s site before you plan around an event.
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When is the World of WearableArt show?
Usually over about three weeks from late September into October. Tickets go on sale months ahead and the best seats sell out early.
What is Matariki?
The Maori new year, marked by the rising of the Matariki star cluster in midwinter. It has been a New Zealand public holiday since 2022, and Wellington celebrates with events on the waterfront.