Ngapuhi Festival’s ‘Shout Out’ to Youth

24 January 2018

Ngapuhi Festival’s ‘Shout Out’ to Youth

Youth are in for an action packed day full of interactive entertainment, prizes and giveaways when they attend Ngapuhi Festival this coming Anniversary weekend.

In recognition of the important role that youth have in our communities Ngāpuhi Festival 2018 will feature activities and entertainment that celebrates young people and provides them with their own unique experience.

To kick-start this kaupapa, inaugural youth singing competition Iwi Idol was launched in August. This provided the platform for 20 young people to share their musical talent with Aotearoa NZ. Monique Henare-Urwin was selected as the first ‘Iwi Idol’ and will perform alongside festival headliner Aaradhna on the main stage. All other Idol finalists will also perform live on stage.

Proudly supported by NorthTec, the ‘Youth BAE’ interactive space has the ultimate setup for 11 to 17-year-olds.

In the ‘Youth BAE’ people can enter the Waka Sprint Challenge Zone where it’s all about the action. Youth can sign up for the sprint challenge and race their mates on the waka simulators or try and get themselves to the top of the leader board. There are heaps of cool prizes up for grabs.

For those who want an out-of-this-world experience, the VR Boom simulator will bring the virtual reality world to life, with cutting-edge technology and awesome graphics. Participants can explore the ocean depths and swim with the whales, test their skills on the VR platform games and get creative with the 3D brush.

The ‘Wai-Fi’ Lounge is a cool space to chill out with mates while watching all the entertainment on the main stage. Charging stations will be available for boosting up devices. There is also a selfie competition planned and free data up for grabs.

Mark Ewen, NorthTec’s Chief Executive, says: “NorthTec is proud to be supporting the Ngapuhi Festival and its Youth BAE. zone. We are keen to encourage young people to better their lives by going on to tertiary education after leaving school, and our staff will be on hand to discuss our wide range of study options available to people of all ages.”

Young people are well catered for with a stage line-up that includes Aaradhna, Pieter T, Paua, Majic Paora, and Arthur Bristowe. Youth will also be given the exclusive opportunity to get selfies and signatures from selected performers.

Toi Ngapuhi has pulled out all the stops for the artistically-inclined youth. As part of this year’s exhibition, world record-holding graffiti artists will be on site showcasing their skills completing an outdoor graffiti art mural project. The artists will be working in amongst the festival to encourage young people to stop by to check out their work and have a chat.

Tio Taiaki, Festival Event Manager, says: “We have so much going on for youth, it's going to be a great day out in Whangarei. We want all our young people to come to festival and enjoy all the cool, interactive activities and free stuff and getting selfies with their favorite performing artists.”

For more details visit facebook.com/ngapuhifestival or ngapuhifestival.com

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