An endless summer is the dream of many Northlanders - but some say this year the fantasy's namesake festival fails to deliver the fanfare.
Whangarei's Endless Summer Festival, which begins this Friday, has gone off with a bang in past years.
Musicians Nesian Mystik and Don McGlashan raised the roof of the
Whangarei Heritage Museum and arts and theatre acts gave hope to folk, as the sun set on the season.
But this year, six of the nine events promoted to hold onto the spirit summer were not organised for the Whangarei District Council's $50,000 festival.
Owner of Tuatara gallery and shop in Whangarei, Kara Dodson, says the festival is "blatantly lacking" and is not representative of the entire community.
Instead, she said it "lumps in" events that would normally be happening at this time of year.
Festival organisers had "ignored the arts community" in the "very biased and narrow" festival, which was predominantly sporting-based and a "little bit thin on the ground".
"It could be a really fantastic thing. The weather is great and there is so much on offer around Whangarei. But the festival is getting worse and worse," she said.
But festival co-ordinator, Forum North director Stuart Challis, said he had not intentionally excluded any part of the community and the festival was open to anyone.
He said organisers had made a conscious decision to support outdoor leisure activities that were synonymous with Northland summer and that its main focus had been to present activities that related to the "endless summer" theme.
This year's budget had been spent on an Open Air Cinema, a children's Finding Neverland event at The Quarry Gardens and a basketball challenge, as well as promotion of all events under the festival umbrella.
"We've got a good selection of events this year. There's something for everyone," he said.
