Music, kites, literary adventures and fire to ignite Lower Hutt’s events scene

Mayor Campbell Barry says Lower Hutt is welcoming the warmer months with an eclectic array of events.

“Whether you’re seeing the best our local artists have to offer, listening to the orchestra or even wanting to fly a kite, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt is the place to be heading towards summer.”

The inaugural Lower Hutt Art Trail takes flight on the weekend of 19-20 October from 10am-4pm. The event features work from more than 50 artists at venues across Lower Hutt. It will showcase artistic disciplines such as painting, pottery, printmaking, collage, textile arts, weaving, glass art, jewellery, woodwork, metalwork, and mixed media. Visitors will have the opportunity to view these works in both artists’ studios and various pop-up sites and galleries throughout the city.

Orchestra Wellington’s annual Big Bash is on Sunday 6 October, 1-4pm, at the Lower Hutt Events Centre.

First held in 2020, the big bash is the orchestra’s annual mass play-in event which brings together hundreds of instrumentalists from across the Wellington region in a glorious afternoon of music-making. They will be conducted by the orchestra’s Music Director Marc Taddei.

All those taking part will rehearse and then perform works including movements Mars and Jupiter from Gustav Holst's The Planets, and Montagues and Capulets from Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet Suite No 2.

It’s free for the public to attend both the rehearsal from 1-3pm and the performance which is scheduled to start at about 3.30pm.

Beyond the Page is a free festival for tamariki and their whānau which focuses on non-traditional literary experiences that’ll have youngsters fizzing with excitement. This is the seventh edition of the festival which is a collaboration of libraries in Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Kapiti Coast, Masterton and Wellington. It runs from 28 September-13 October across multiple venues.

Wellington’s Kite Festival returns to McEwan Park from 10am-4pm on Saturday 19 October. You won’t just get to soar a kite into the sky. There will be food trucks, music from a local DJ, face painting and family-friendly games. Entry is $3 which is redeemable when you buy a kite.

On the same day at McEwan Park, following the Kite Festival, is the first Wellington Fire Display Festival from 5-10pm. It’s a family friendly event with a breathtaking array of fire-based performances, local musical performers, amusement rides and food trucks. Entry is $10, children under-12 are free.

You can see other events hosted in Lower Hutt here.