Festival of Colour 2023 | Explore | Wanaka Official Website

Featured Activities

Skiing & Snowboarding

Discover Seasons

The Southern Lakes Festival of Colour celebrates the arts in all forms.

Festival of Colour 2023

Weather today

15°C

broken clouds

View full report

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Held biennially over six exciting days and nights of brilliant performances and inspiring exhibitions the festival has its base in Wānaka and has a selection of events around the region in Luggate, Hāwea and Cromwell and Queenstown.

Held in the dramatic months of autumnal splendour when the leaves don gold and the region becomes a place of gilded whimsy, the festival features events in theatre, music, literature, dance, visual arts and sculpture.

Filter

Getting Here

Discover more

Alpha Challenge

Hop Across the Block Party

#lovewānaka

We'd guess that nearly EVERYONE has a mischievous kea story. These wily alpine parrots are always getting up to something (but we love them for it). What's your kea story?

📷 @briwoolnough

The edge of it all in Mt. Aspiring National Park

📷 @briwoolnough

Autumn quietude 🍂

📷 @briwoolnough

There’s nothing better than a family ski holiday. Seeing the kids take their first turns, playing in the snow and experiencing the magic of the mountains is priceless ✨

But if you haven’t done it before, a ski holiday with the little ones can seem daunting. But fear not! Because we’ve put together the ultimate checklist so that you can have your ducks in a row before taking on the holiday 👪 Link in bio

Find some loam in Sticky Forest 🌲

📷 @bradwilletts

Golden hour swims ✨

📷 @bradwilletts

📷 Picture this. You wake up at 2am, drive to the trailhead, flick on your head torch and begin the long slog upwards. It’s no luxurious feat, but you know it’ll all be worth it to get the sunrise shot at the top of the mountain. This is why so many come to New Zealand – punishing hikes rewarded with incredible 360 views.

The problem is that social media can directly fuel over tourism and each photo has the power to draw more visitors to a particular location.

So what can we do to help protect this place? Link in bio.

📷 @jacksonlana

Pisa gold ✨

📷 @the_cornishpixie

As diverse as Wānaka’s businesses are, there’s a defining thread: a steadfast commitment to sustainability and respect for celebrating whenua, the land we call home 🌱

Set in the lush, rolling hills of Glendhu Bay, with Mt Aspiring National Park providing an epic backdrop, one of the businesses at the forefront of this movement is Bike Glendhu.

We sat down with Bike Glendhu’s manager Charlie Cochrane, to chat through their company vision, regenerative tourism, and how this approach is driving their business to new heights 🚴Read the blog, link in bio.

📷 @clinttrahan

Aspiring filmmakers, you have less than ONE WEEK to submit your entries for The @monsterchildren Film Awards presented by Wānaka.

Monster Children and Wānaka are looking for short film submissions that deepen the connection with land, history, and culture under the theme ‘A Sense Of Place’. Submit your short film for a chance to win $10,000 cash and the opportunity to co-produce a film in Wānaka, NZ with Monster Children Films.

Link in bio for more info and to submit your entry.

📷 @bennjae

"If you haven’t experienced the light in Central Otago, you haven’t lived."

@bennjae is one of the five directors judging the inaugural @monsterchildren Short Film Awards presented by Wānaka 🎥 In this interview, he shares with us his Central Otago. Link in bio.

The Film Awards are now open for submissions! Submit your short film for a chance to win $10,000 cash and the opportunity to co-produce a film here in Wānaka with Monster Childern Films.

With many of Wānaka's seasonal workers struggling to find accommodation, Carmen Blackler set out to find a solution, bringing homeowners and employers together to give Wānaka’s valued workers spaces to call home 🏘️

In this blog, we’ll explore how Carmen, inspired by a love for her community and a desire to solve the issue of worker accommodation, founded the Workforce Accommodation Network, helping workers find their place in Lake Wānaka. Link in bio.

Welcome back to our Aussie friends! 🇦🇺

We’re stoked that new and returning guests will once again be able to experience the incredible wairua (spirit) of this place. We also acknowledge that we all have a responsibility to protect the taoka (treasure) of Wānaka and practice kaitiakitanga (guardianship) while you’re here.

Here are 5 ways to be a good traveller while in Wānaka. Link in bio

📷 @sophiepiearcey, @markclinton & @luke_kneller

Fancy a paddle in the Blue Pools?

📷 @joe.canham

Autumn colours have arrived on the South Island 🍂

📷 @ainraadik

Director @benbriand is a judge in the inaugural @monsterchildren Short Film Awards presented by Wānaka, and he shared with us—and you—his favorite 8 Aussie/Kiwi-directed shorts. 🎥 Interview link in bio.

The Film Awards are now open for submissions! Submit your short film for a chance to win $10,000 cash and the opportunity to co-produce a film here in Wānaka with Monster Childern Films.

One of our guest judges for the Monster Children Short Film Awards presented by Wānaka is @lulacucchiara. A brilliant filmmaker, @monsterchildren asked Lula to list seven movies that evoke a feeling of home. Interview link in bio.

The Film Awards are now open for submissions! Submit your short film for a chance to win $10,000 cash and the opportunity to co-produce a film here in Wānaka with Monster Childern Films.

Calling aspiring filmmakers for The @monsterchildren Film Awards presented by Wānaka.

Monster Children and Wānaka are looking for short film submissions that deepen the connection with land, history, and culture under the theme ‘A Sense Of Place’. Submit your short film for a chance to win $10,000 cash and the opportunity to co-produce a film in Wānaka, NZ with Monster Children Films.

Link in bio for more info and to submit your entry.

📷 @bennjae

Te Kākano Aotearoa Trust is a Wānaka community-based, non-profit plant nursery that raises plants of local origin for native habitat restoration.

Whether you're here for a week or a lifetime, here are ways that you can help restore Wanaka's native plants 🌱 Link in bio

📷 @mollyyy_pop