Auckland’s new festival Elemental AKL closes after staging more than 65 events

The inaugural Elemental AKL festival finished this week with further strong attendance over the final weekend of events including Albert Park’s interactive light playground Tūrama, Mangere’s social impact storytelling sold-out event NUKU Live, and the Elemental Hub in Aotea Square.

Auckland’s new festival has brightened up the region with a diverse and vibrant programme of more than 65 events and 120 participating eateries throughout the wider region.

From Matakana to Mangere, Henderson to Ponsonby, Auckland’s winter story was brought to life with a captivating line-up of dazzling light shows, delicious culinary events, spectacular cultural performances and uplifting entertainment – with almost half of the events free.

The finish to the 31-day festival included full houses at the three-course hangi dinner Tunu Tahi at the Smoko Room, InsideOut Productions’ powerful storytelling performances Te Hono - The Gathering in the Auckland Concert Chamber, and the fun-filled Silent Disco Citywalk with Papaya Stories.

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) General Manager Destination, Steve Armitage, says the popularity of the events throughout the month reflected an outstanding inaugural programme put together by ATEED and numerous partners.

Armitage advised “Aucklanders and visitors alike embraced the opportunity to celebrate our region’s unique winter appeal through the festival. Elemental AKL is on its way to being an unmissable annual highlight for our region, supporting the Destination AKL 2025 strategy’s priorities for sustainable growth of our visitor economy.”

The 2019 festival brought Auckland’s food story to the forefront with Elemental Feast, which explored the unforgettable gastronomic scene available throughout the region with more than 120 eateries offering a themed dish designed just for the festival.

The extensive culinary offering through the month had several sell-out events, including high-profile international chef collaborations with Manish Mehrota and Anna Hansen, and world-renowned mixologists Matt Whiley and Sother Teague at Eat Drink Love Ponsonby.

The 2020 Elemental AKL will again be held from 1st to 31st July next year.

Images of the inaugural Elemental AKL courtesy of the Auckland Maritime Museum (top) and ATEED (middle and below).