Rhythm And Vines Launches Warrant Of Festival Fitness To Help Improve Festival Safety And Wellbeing

With the New Year festival just around the corner, Rhythm and Vines have launched their new Warrant of Festival Fitness, or WOFF, a handy checklist to get festival ready ahead of this year's festival.

Complete your WOFF at rhythmandvines.co.nz/woff 

The fun and interactive checklist covers off some of the key safety features of the festival with attendees, including:

• Personal safety tips such as the Mobile App, Text Helpline and what to do if they are, or see someone in trouble.
• Improving knowledge of The Haven, a care space with trained staff to provide support for people who require assistance.
• Partnerships with Ear Health safety (Sets Earpieces), lost and found (Rockettags) and encouraging healthy discussions (Everyday Solitude)

Everyone who completes it will go in the draw to win $5000 worth of prizes including SETS Earpieces to improve ear health safety, Rockettags for helping find lost valuables, through to WAYVER credit to spend at this year’s festival as well as tickets to the 2025 festival. The prize pool includes up to

“The Warrant of Festival Fitness is just another way we can positively engage with our festival goers to ensure the festival remains a safe and inclusive place for all our festival goers,” Says Festival Director Kieran Spillane. “We know that each year over 50% of our attendees are new to the festival and its important to educate and engage on what is expected of them across the time they are with us and how to look out for them and their mates”

Rhythm and Vines are proud to be setting the standard in festival safety and wellbeing. A dedicated team implement extensive measures and resources to create a safe environment for all attendees, working with international festival and local authorities to set an industry standard in safety and wellness practices for festivals

Returning for their 22nd year, Rhythm and Vines is proud of its ongoing partnership with Hato Hone St John. This partnership sees a fully equipped medical team is present at all times with medical staff on hand to provide 24-hour triage and full medical care. From minor issues to urgent care, festival-goers have access to professional medical support throughout the event.

In addition to this partnership, The Haven returns for 2024. The Haven is the festival's onsite sanctuary providing psychological first aid and peer support for customers in need of assistance, including, but not limited to, individuals experiencing mental health episodes, relationship breakdowns, overwhelming festival environments, or difficult experiences caused from substances. For those in need of further support, the festival's dedicated Haven Team can connect them with essential services, quickly and discreetly. The Haven exemplifies the festival's commitment to mental and emotional well-being by providing a dedicated space for attendees to reset in a safe, supportive environment.

In addition to this - Festival-goers in need of assistance can use the festivals text helpline 3960 with a grid reference system, which allows the support team to pinpoint their exact location within the festival grounds. This feature enables a rapid response, ensuring that help can be dispatched wherever it’s needed, with accuracy and speed.

An addition to the 2024 festival. Rhythm and Vines is introducing on-site breath testing for all festival days, with an enhanced focus on January 1. This initiative is designed to encourage responsible driving decisions. The festival offers music, food and refreshments, along with safe driving messaging at the exit to ensure patrons leave the festival in a relaxed and comfortable manner.

Rhythm and Vines is proud of its long term collaborations with the New Zealand Police, Local Hospital, Gisborne District Council, and the New Zealand Drug Foundation. Rhythm and Vines supports the Drug Foundation in offering on-site drug testing, a service that provides patrons a preventative space for customers who want to be better informed about substances that may be in circulation. The Mobile app will be a key tool in sharing information with festival attendees.

ABOUT RHYTHM AND VINES

Since 2003, over 350,000 Kiwis and international travellers have unlocked their rite of passage - the journey that is Rhythm and Vines.

Held each year at the stunning Waiohika Estate, on the East Coast of New Zealand, in the beautiful township of Tairāwhiti | Gisborne. Be one of the first in the world to welcome the first sunrise at one of the world's premier music festivals. The award winning music festival opens up to campers from December 28, with the festival officially kicking off on December 29, through to the first sunrise on January 1.
This will be the 22nd edition of Rhythm and Vines.

The festival successfully raised $31,000 for the Gisborne Mayoral Relief Fund and will continue to focus it’s fundraising efforts to support the festival’s home town. In the years prior to the Gisborne floods, Rhythm and Vines successfully raised over $62,500 for Lifeline.

Full lineup and festival information available at rhythmandvines.co.nz

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