Photos: Festival shines a light on Kaikohe

Sisters Ngataitangirua, 11, and Mikara Hita, 14, check out the light sculptures at Bling Bling Toi Marama. Photo / Peter de Graaf

More than 6000 people descended on Kaikohe over four nights last week to take part in Bling Bling Toi Marama, a festival of light celebrating Matariki and children's creativity.

The event featured a night market with warming kai and live music on the old Kaikohe Hotel site, but the real drawcard was a fantastical ''light cave'' packed with glow-in-the-dark art made by 700 children from a dozen Mid North schools.

Toi Ngāpuhi, senior citizens from the Kaikohe branch of Age Well, and several hundred children taking part in weekend activities at Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tāmaki also contributed artworks.

The event, which wrapped up on Saturday night, was organised by Ākau design studio and Kaikohekohe Konnex to "bring light to the community".

Ākau director Ana Heremaia said children taking part were given a wero (challenge) to create a piece of light art on the theme of Te Waonui a Tāne (the realm of Tāne, god of the forest).

Feedback had been overwhelmingly positive and the children's mahi (work) was beautiful, Heremaia said.

''It's been awesome seeing tamariki bring whānau in to show them what they've created.''

Numbers were well up on last year's inaugural event with an extra night added by popular demand.

Around 1800 people visited on each of the two busiest nights, when queues stretched down Broadway, with about 6400 passing through the light cave in total — more than the total population of Kaikohe.

Also shining a light in Kaikohe was the Celebration Trust which switched on the town's Christmas tree, a huge double-trunked Norfolk pine next to the skate park, with help from Top Energy arborists who put up the lights.

The tree will remain lit for the duration of the school holidays.

Ākau kaimahi Dina McLeod was kept busy applying fluorescent paint to young visitors. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Nine-year-old JJ Martin was herself transformed into a glow-in-the-dark artwork. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Dozens of Ākau kaimahi helped make the event a reality. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Glow-in-the-dark artworks made by 700 children from 12 Mid North schools celebrated the realm of Tāne. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Seven-year-old Ataahua Kitson-Hoori meets a life-size, glow-in-the-dark moa. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Auckland City Art Gallery Toi O Tāmaki staff Vanessa Fong, Michelle Wilkinson and Moraig Humphries brought artworks made by hundreds of young gallery visitors. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Ākau kaimahi and the Hita family were among hundreds of people who contributed to the festival. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Frances McLean of Kaikohe enjoys the night market. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Ākau kaimahi pose for a group photo at the night market. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Even the pōhutukawa on Broadway was transformed into a light sculpture. Photo / Peter de Graaf