Kiwigrass – New Zealand’s National Bluegrass Festival.
Kiwigrass is set for 31st Jan to 2nd Feb 2020. In addition to an outstanding line-up of music concerts there will also be great food on hand, with the Podium Café providing meals, ice creams, and coffee. And food trucks: Roam Catering and Greek Souvlaki are returning and will be joined this year by the lovely ladies of the Beach Hutt.
Inside the Sir Don Rowlands Centre, you will find Peter Madill and Johan van der Gaag in the luthiers room with their wares on display, along with a selection of musical necessities from Shearer’s Music of Hamilton. The luthier room will also be the site of the instrument care and repair workshops on Saturday.
Check out the Festival Program here.
Kiwigrass is not just for bluegrass lovers by the way. Lake District Adventures will be at the venue between 10:00am and 4:00pm on Saturday and Sunday with mountain bike and kayak rentals for folks who would like to get out and get out on the water or explore the Te Awa River Trail.
If you haven’t done so already, now is a good time to book your camping site at Lake Karapiro. The campground is very comfortable, with level, marked out sites, and clean, up-to-date facilities. They’ve got plenty of powered and unpowered sites still available.
There is still a variety of AirBnB options, quite a lot of which are reasonably priced and close to the venue. If you’re having trouble finding something, check in with Karina at the Cambridge iSite, and she’ll sort you out.
Auckland Folk Festival
Look for the KiwiGrass folk at the Auckland Folk Festival over Auckland Anniversary Weekend. We’ll be in the white marquee right near the main entrance with the Kiwigrass banner and Pipi Pickin’ Parlour sign. Stop in for a chat or a jam.
Prior to the festival, there’s also an academy for those of us that would like some bluegrass tuition. Last years tuition was very worthwhile.