Get with the program
Featherston Booktown unveiled the programme for its 11th annual Karukatea Festival at Anzac Hall on Friday, 13 March. After a welcoming karakia by Liz Mellish and an introduction from Chair Peter Biggs, Festival Director Jordan Hamel revealed the lineup of big names, big ideas, and big conversations scheduled to take over Featherston from 8–10 May. Former Poet Laureate Chris Tse, a regular festival visitor, also recited some of his work and offered a preview of the event, which aims to attract up to 10,000 visitors to Featherston. As New Zealand’s only Booktown, Featherston has seen the number of bookstores grow from one to eight over the past decade. Alongside this growth, the Festival’s popular Book Voucher scheme has helped hundreds of South Wairarapa schoolchildren discover new books, providing them with a $20 voucher to spend on a book of their choice during the Festival. Featherston Booktown sincerely thanks the Featherston community for their support over the past eleven years, from our wonderful volunteers who are the friendly faces of the Festival, to our fantastic booksellers, and everyone who attends an event and buys a book. We’re excited to do it all again this May.Read more about programme highlights and booksellers on page 6!
