The final programme for WOMAD NZ has been released. Photo / Charlotte Curd
In three weeks time New Plymouth’s Bowl of Brooklands and Brooklands Park will be a kaleidoscope of colour, sound, taste and smell as WOMAD (World of Music Arts and Dance) comes to the region.
The festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and the final line-up, announced on Thursday, is packed with things for festival fans to celebrate.
The festival is well known for the wide range of food on offer, with food trucks bringing the best of a wide range of cultures suited to all tastes always attracting plenty of hungry festival-goers. Taste buds will be further tempted at the Taranaki Offshore Partnership Taste The World events.
Taking place in the Kunming Garden, Taste the World will be hosted by broadcaster Katrina Smith who says the event enables her to combine her loves of food and music. She says the sessions are run in a way that gives the audience plenty of chance to interact with the famous faces cooking up a storm.
“The audience can get up close to the artists and get to know them as people.”
The menu for this year’s Taste The World includes the Grammy-nominated Cuban musician Cimafunk who will be making cangrejada (crab) and caldo de mariscos (seafood soup) along with the three vocalists from Korean music group Ak Dan Gwang Chil (ADG7), who will share their recipe for Kimchijeon - Korean pancake.
Italian food lovers are likely to enjoy watching Kefaya and Elaha Saroor cook up Melanzane alla Parmigiana - a baked dish consisting of aubergine, poor and beef ragu, tomato and plenty of cheeses and herbs.
Storytelling is a large part of Taste The World, with recipes and food memories shared by the artists cooking up a storm on stage. Nigerian / Aotearoan hip-hop artist Mazbou Q will share his recipe for a popular Nigerian dish - Jollof rice, along with his memories of eating it over the years, while Deva Mahal will be making sweet potato souffle in honour of a friend, saying “it’s something that represents my ancestors and is served to our families to warm our souls”.
The menu will also include Danish Rugbrød cooked by Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, while members of Canada-based Constantinople will bring the taste of Persia to the stage, serving up Pomegranate Khoresh with Chicken.
The full schedule for Taste The World is available online at www.womad.co.nz.
The cultural heartbeat of the festival will be found at Te Paepae - the orator’s bench, where festival-goers will be encouraged to learn about, and get a taste of, the indigenous culture, language and art of Aotearoa New Zealand.
With the support of Tui Ora, and in partnership with iwi, WOMAD NZ offers a packed Te Paepae programme, including pepehā sessions, moko stencils, poi demonstrations and rongoā rākau - traditional plant-based Māori healing workshops. Featured guest speakers include Dr Huhana Smith who will present Biochar kōreos and workshops and kai resilience advocate Pounamu Skelton (Te Āti Awa, Taranaki, Ngāti Ruanui).
WOMAD has always been a family-friendly festival, and younger festival-goers will find plenty to see, do and learn at WOMAD Kidzone. This year’s theme is “the world from our streets” and will encourage tamariki to celebrate some Aotearoa’s most iconic Kiwi-isms as well as learn about and explore multicultural life in New Zealand.
Open to children aged up to 12, Kidszone is free and offers tamariki a range of art, crafts, dance and storytelling opportunities. From making flags and paper masks to lei, poi and postcards, there is plenty to create in the arts section of the Kidszone.
The ever-popular Kid’s Parade on Sunday will give tamariki the chance to show off the work they have created during the festival. Also on offer will be a macrame keyring workshop, storytime with drag queens Erika and CoCo Flash and puppet fun featuring talented puppeteer Anna Bailey. Theatresports, games, face-painting and real fruit icecream will also be on offer, ensuring children find plenty to enjoy at WOMAD.
Flowers and flamingos will light up WOMAD NZ this year thanks to light artist Angus Muir, while stiltwalkers and other roaming artists will keep festival-goers entertained throughout.
The full line-up is online now and festival-goers are encouraged to download the WOMAD app to ensure they get the most out of the festival.
The details:
What: WOMAD NZ
When: March 17-19
Where: Bowl of Brooklands and Brooklands Park, New Plymouth, Taranaki
