Steve Braunias is to be the opening speaker.
Anna Locker-Lampson is hoping against hope that the first readers and writers festival in Waipawa will go ahead.
Between the Lines, the inaugural Readers and Writers Festival at Waipawa in Central Hawke's Bay, is scheduled for July 23-26. We have yet to cancel. It's with an undying optimism that we
continue to hope the festival will be able to proceed.
A fortnight ago, the four team members of the festival met at the Waipawa Library and sat two metres apart from each looking rather despondent. We'd arranged to meet with the expectation we'd discuss how to launch our programme on our Facebook page. But there we were, a mixed bag of exuberant females, meeting to consider having to cancel.
We'd planned for our festival to showcase the small, beautiful bit of countryside of Central Hawke's Bay. Most of the sessions were pencilled-in to be held in the grand old houses of the area, creating the feeling of a fireside conversation.
We'd just finalised our programme, over the moon that Steve Braunias had agreed to be our opening speaker, and that a range of authors had also said yes to making the trip. But whereas we should have been congratulating each other, we sat there bewildered – and also determined not to say die immediately.
