Taupō Winter Festival light show returns to Tongariro Domain

Mercury Light Hub creative director Ant van Dorsen of Vesica Aotearoa, prepares Taupō's Tongariro South Domain for the annual show. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

The bright sparks behind Taupō's “magical” Winter Festival light show are putting in a huge additional effort to help it become a “destination event”.

With nearby ski fields opening their slopes for the season and the days at their shortest and coldest, the annual Malcolm Flowers Insurances Taupō Winter Festival has become a hotly anticipated event in its own right, with the free light show - the Mercury Light Hub - at the heart of a two-week calendar of winter-themed events.

The show’s creative director Ant van Dorsen of Vesica Aotearoa said it was “a pretty big step up” this year for the light hub, with a change of location back to the southern playground area of Tongariro Domain, close to the lake, the main hospitality area and amongst the additional, and helpful landscaping, trees, paths and sculptures.

“We love to come here, we like it because it is on the back of Matariki, you can go to the hot pools, bring the kids. There is massive potential to be a destination festival and that’s why I do it.”

It was that potential to make it a national, must-do activity for visitors which prompted him to go far beyond what was expected and all the light installations this year were new.

This year’s display included an 8-metre-high half-sun which would bath a section of the domain in a “golden wash”. There was a phonogram, which was an audio-visual interactive light display that allowed people to make sounds that control lights in the trees.

There was a massive illuminated chess board display called Checkmate by light artists Amigo and Amigo, where the King stands 7.5-metres-tall.

A feature display called Teepee by lighting aficionado Angus Muir forms a huge triangular entrance to the park from Tongariro St, which lines up with Tūwharetoa St, where many of the town’s bars and restaurants are located.

“It is really effective at night, even if they don’t come into the park.”

There would also be the Wairakei Estate Ice Rink and and Ice Slide and even the ride-on, Taupō Lions’ Train would be lit up for the big event.

The festival’s opening night on Friday would include fire dancers, glow in the dark candy floss and even a free cup of hot soup and bread thanks to Pak’nSave.

Van Dorsen said the “incredible” new playground in the middle of the southern domain would add another element of magic to the light show, along with the additional trees that would be lit up and the generally “bigger canvas” to work with.

Part of the Taupō Light Hub in 2021. Photo / Merv Richdale

“It enables an excellent canvas to create light art on.”

People can find out more about the festival by heading to the taupowinterfestival.co.nz website. Other events include live music, workshops, a mid-winter swim in the lake on July 13, a roller disco on the 14th and a few adult-only events, including Gin and Jive, Sip and Paint and Mocktails and Menopause.