A popular music festival that takes over Levin for a day has gone into hiatus for a year as organisers pour their hearts into another event.
Paul King and Eboney Taylor were busy planning another event of significance - their marriage.
The couple, who have been together for 14 yearsnow, are due to marry at Kereru Marae next weekend in front of family and friends.
They were the instigators of New Zealand Music Month Day, traditionally held in the last weekend in May. The last time it was held it featured 350 musicians playing in 14 different locations around the Levin town centre throughout the day.
Levin rap artist David Robertson, aka Killa D, aka KD, performed live in 2019.
King said the initial festival held seven years ago was quite small, but its popularity grew quickly as more people wanted to be involved, to the point it was gaining national recognition.
He was astonished at how many people turned out to the last event, where metal bands and rap artists played alongside barbershop quartets.
"For a lot of people they would only see these bands or this music if they went to a pub or a club," he said.
Organising an event of that size was a big undertaking and was only possible through Creative New Zealand grants obtained through Horowhenua District Council.
King said the grant money was essential to staging an event of that size, through advertising and the hiring of stages and equipment, and even then it relied heavily on volunteer help.
Paul King and Eboney Taylor.
"We put a lot of our own money into it. It's not a free lunch but it's a community thing and that's why we do it," he said.
Covid-19 put paid to the event last year. New Zealand Music Month Day would be back in Levin next year though, he said.
King said he would like to see Oxford St closed for the day and all traffic diverted from the town centre, and he was looking into what consents were needed.
He hoped to get Horowhenua District Council to support the idea of closing off the street so a huge stage could be erected, and was optimistic of luring a major New Zealand headline act.
Ainsley Allen performed in 2019.
King said the New Zealand music commission had described the festival as a shining example of a community showcasing their talent.
