When: Saturday 2 March 2024

Time: 12.00 noon to 6.00 pm

Where: Waterfront Drive, Mangonui, Doubtless Bay, Far North

Entrance fee: Adults (18 years+) $10, Children (5 - 17 years) Gold Coin donation, Under 5’s Free

Mangonui's annual Waterfront Festival is billed as a farewell to summer, the last chance to enjoy a long afternoon and evening before the end of daylight saving,

The road frontage is closed to traffic for the duration of the event. Crowds of around 5,000 are expected; with previous festivals having been unqualified successes.

A celebration and showcase for everything good about the Far North, from wine and food to music and art with stalls stretching from just north of the Old Oak Boutique Hotel to the wharf. They have offered everything from wine and food (including dishes from Thailand, South Africa, Mexico and New Zealand) to bromeliads and honey, condiments, massage, nail pinting and garden art.

For the more active, there has been the chance to flex some muscles in tug-o-war and tennis - while on the water there has been paddle board and sailing.

Just a reminder to everyone that as per normal festival regulations, no alcohol is allowed to be brought into the area from outside. Obviously there will be a number of licensed stalls selling beers and wines on the day as well as the local stores inside the festival. Thanks everyone.

Stallholder Registrations

Anyone wishing to have a stall at this event is advised to register prior to the end of January to take advantage of the early bird discount.

Stall site charge rates:

  • Early Bird (prior to 31 Dec 2022): 3mx3m site $60 | 6mx3m site $85
  • Standard (31 Dec 2022 – 10 Feb 2023): 3mx3m site $85 | 6mx3m site $110
  • Extra charge for vehicle unless integral part of stall: $50.00 per site

Typical Events include:

  • 80+ stalls - variety of food, wine, art and activities
  • 5 groups performing on Main Stage (near Mangonui Hotel)
  • 4 groups performing on Chilll Stage (under the Pohutukawa trees)
  • 7 performances on the Be Free Youth Stage (at Wiltons Garage & Marine)
  • Local Line Dancers
  • Little Kitchen Cafe Scoff Off
  • Taipa Sailing Club races
  • Mangonui World Famous Paddle Board Challenge
  • Children's Entertainment - face painting, bouncy castle and more

AND MUCH MORE

Check out our Facebook page.

Sponsors and Supporters for 2023 were:

  • Northland Inc.
  • Oxford Sports Trust
  • Mangonui Lions
  • Mangonui School
  • Mangonui Hotel
  • Wiltons Garage and Marine

Images of the 2019 Festival courtesy of Ian Ivey.

Mangonui's annual party - fantastic atmosphere


From an article by Stewart Russell for 9 March 2019 Northland Age.

If you were not in Mangonui village last Saturday, you certainly missed out on something special. This was the eighth year of the Mangonui Waterfront Festival and it continues to go from strength to strength.

Everyone was in the mood to party! One of the most rewarding comments I received from many sources this year was the special atmosphere that the Mangonui Waterfront Festival generates.

The key purpose of the event is to celebrate produce, arts and entertainment from the Far North. But it is also about our local economy receiving a welcome boost before winter. Over a quarter of the festival-goers were from outside the Far North District, many from overseas. There was a wide selection of food, drink and products to satisfy the most discerning customer.

As with last year there was plenty of entertainment on offer and all three stages had people dancing in the street. Wiltons Garage & Marine hosted the “Be Free” Youth Stage, which allowed us to enjoy some of the fantastic emerging talent the Far North has to offer. The Chill Zone, for those wanting something a little more mellow, was kindly sponsored by Butler Point Whaling Museum. There were plenty of people chillaxing in the afternoon sun. The Main Stage next to Mangonui Hotel certainly rocked the middle of the festival site - especially headline band Chemamari. All the bands got the crowd going and helped create that special festival vibe.

And there's no resting for us now - we start planning the 2020 Festival straight away, building on the successes of this year. Fortunately, thanks to the support of Pub Charity and everyone who turned up on the day, it looks like we will cover this year's operating costs, which are approximately $50,000. A lot of the public don't realise the cost of putting such an event on - and that is with an enormous amount of volunteers' time as well!! The main costs include event management, security, facilities, traffic management, advertising, sound, staging and entertainment. The event is not intended to make a profit. If there is surplus cash after paying all the various costs including the planning costs for the 2020 festival, the organising committee will make donations to local charities.

And here's the best part, where I get the honour of thanking publicly all the many people and businesses that make the Mangonui Waterfront Festival such a huge success. A great big thank you to all the organisations that help with the event, in particular Mangonui Lions who work tirelessly throughout the day. They helped with parking, directing people and driving the shuttle buses to the car parks. A special mention to our stage and sound crew - Music Workshop. It's a huge task to build the stage and sound for this event - making sure each stage doesn't impact on the other and getting the balance just right. Many of you would have travelled to the event courtesy of the CBEC Bus-About shuttle service from Taipa to Mangonui. Thanks to the bus drivers and Ramada Resort Reia Taipa Beach which helped to fund the buses. Mangonui School for providing tables gazebos, shuttle buses and car parking and DB Hire providing the portaloos free of charge to everyone's relief…..

Thanks to those of you who heard our call for volunteers to man the gates, especially our Doubtless Bay Information Centre volunteers and the team from PKF Francis Aickin. I must also acknowledge our event organiser, Jodi Betts of Somersault Event Management, without whom the Festival simply would not happen. Jodi has also been with us from the start!

The festival shows what we can achieve when we come together as a community and a group of businesses.