Covid 19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Lockdown scuttles Whanganui Heritage Month

Ann Petherick has been co-ordinating Whanganui Heritage Month 2021. Photo / Paul Brooks

This year's Whanganui Heritage Month has been postponed until October 2022, due to uncertainty and restrictions from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most of its events were only possible under level 1 Covid-19 restrictions, Whanganui Regional Heritage Trust member Helen Craig said.

Marketing and promotion had been on track to launch the month with a flourish on September 4, event co-ordinator Ann Petherick said.

"We had extensive regional advertising booked and our accommodation providers already had bookings from as far afield as Auckland," Petherick said.

Stakeholders overwhelmingly agreed that postponement was the only option.

Some funding from sponsors has been spent on advertising, and some will have to be paid back, Craig said. The trust will not be out of pocket.

The first Whanganui Heritage Month in 2019 was in August. The second was in October last year, also to avoid Covid-19 restrictions.