Theme song winner announced

Published on 15 October 2014

15 October 2014

The Whanganui Festival of Cultures returns to Majestic Square on Saturday, October 18 – and this year the festival has a theme song!

‘Rainbow Event’, an original song written by Mapuna Turner, won the competition for a festival theme song. Ms Turner wrote the song as a dedication to both her family from Putiki and to the late Sir Archie Taiaroa. She receives a prize of $100 for her winning entry. Head along to the festival at 10.30am on Saturday to hear it.

Wanganui District Council Arts Facilitator Debbie Kapohe said Ms Turner did a great job in describing the food stalls, performance, audience and location of the festival in her song.

”Ms Turner did very well to write to the competition brief and to use both English and te reo. I think she is very talented.”

Two ‘highly commended’ songwriters, Amy-Rie and the Shadowers with a melodic soft rock song called ‘Stand as One’ and Richard Ansell with an Irish/Scottish song called ‘Reely Cool’, will receive a certificate at the festival.

This is the third consecutive year the Festival of Cultures has been held. The line-up of entertainment includes the award-winning Wellington Batucada Group, plus New Zealand’s Got Talent finalists The Black Trio and Wellington Ethnic European group Klezmer Rebs.

There will also be a wide range of local performers as well as the return of some favourites such as the IPC Kodama Japanese Drum Group and the Massey University Fire Club. Pacific communities will once again have a strong presence with one Samoan group travelling all the way from Auckland and another from Marton to perform.

The festival has attracted more stallholders this year with 20 signed up to attend, including cuisine from South Africa, the Middle East, Korea, the Pacific, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and South America to name a few.

For more information please visit the Whanganui Festival of Cultures Facebook page.