About 15,000 people are expected to attend this year's Tauranga Jazz Festival between March 27 and April 6. Photo / Supplied
After a rainy Easter weekend last year, sunshine is forecast for the start of this year’s long weekend as music, sport, and Easter-themed events take place across Tauranga.
About 15,000 people are expected to attend the Tauranga Jazz Festival which is on until April 6, while the Mel Young Easter Classic basketball tournament will attract about 5000 players and spectators.
It comes as accommodation providers have reported a “more cautious booking environment” this Easter, but strong visitor levels were still expected.
Tauranga Jazz Festival manager Marc Anderson said it was bringing more than 150 musicians to town.
Its first three jazz concerts at The Jam Factory on the weekend were “sell-outs” which was “a really good start”, he said.
Anderson said the National Youth Jazz Competition began on Monday at Baycourt, with a record number of more than 850 students entering.
On Saturday and Sunday, free outdoor performances will take place at The Barrel Room stage and the Red Square stage in Tauranga CBD.
In Mount Maunganui, there will be live performances at Sailor, Brew, The Cruise Deck and Mount Social Club on Saturday and Sunday, before a “mini jazz” at Porotakataka Park on Monday from 12pm to 2pm.
Tauranga City Basketball general manager Mark Rogers said 1300 players were taking part in the Mel Young Easter Classic tournament, which would attract 3000 or 4000 spectators.
Sixteen courts would be used at Mercury Baypark, Haumaru Sport and Recreation Centre, and Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre, he said.
In its 38th year, it was the longest-running representative basketball tournament of its kind, he said.
“The focus is development, so it’s an opportunity for a lot of kids that won’t go to national tournaments to play kids from other regions.”
There were five age-group divisions, an exhibition walking basketball game and a wheelchair game, he said.
Rogers said entry was free for spectators and everyone was welcome.
Meanwhile, the Easter Bunny is visiting Greerton Village today from 3pm to 5pm, handing out chocolates to children and visitors.
Art and book lovers can visit the Rotary Club of Tauranga’s pop-up book and art sale on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 9.30am to 3.30pm at 63 Devonport Rd. Proceeds will go toward several charities.
Te Puke’s Jubilee Park is hosting The Great Easter Easel Egg-Scapade – an art scavenger hunt and free family festival on Saturday from 9am to 1pm.
The Tauranga Racecourse will transform into a pop-up golf driving range from Friday to Sunday, organised by The Clubroom Tauranga.
The Clubroom Tauranga director Hayden Beard said it wanted to give the community a golf experience “in a shortened format”.
Racing Tauranga general manager Louise Dean said a pop-up driving range showed how versatile the racecourse could be with “a bit of creativity”.
Tourism Bay of Plenty head of strategy and insights Richard Faire said accommodation data for Easter weekend in Tauranga indicated bookings were tracking below last year for some providers, particularly short-term providers on platforms such as Airbnb.
Commercial accommodation operators were also reporting “a more cautious booking environment”, with a mix of softer demand and some cancellations.
Faire said there was an “increasing trend of last-minute booking” based on the weather forecast, which looked “promising” for the start of the weekend.
While Easter in Tauranga may not reach the “peak levels” of previous years, “we still expect a solid level of visitation across the long weekend”.
MetService meteorologist John Law said Good Friday would be a “dry, fine day” with “plenty of settled weather” throughout the Bay of Plenty.
Tauranga’s temperature was expected to be a high of 20C, he said.
“As we get through the long weekend, I think we’ll find the weather goes downhill a little bit with some wetter weather arriving at the other end.”
Saturday would be mostly dry and fine. A bit more cloud and showers would arrive on Sunday, he said.
Monday would be “cloudier and wetter, with a front running up from the south of the country”.
Additional reporting - Rosalie Liddle Crawford
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Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.