Ready to light up the city
‘‘We wanted to ... put on an event that Lower Hutt could be proud of.’’
More than 30,000 people are expected to attend the dazzling displays at a brand new lights carnival over Labour Weekend.
The HighLight Carnival of Lights will transform Lower Hutt’s civic precinct and Riddiford Gardens with a mix glowing installations and performances over four nights.
Festival director Carla Steed could not wait to see the look on peoples faces as they wandered through the displays from Octo- ber 20.
Steed and her team set out 12 months ago to give people an outof-the-ordinary experience and she hoped the carnival would bring something new to the Lower Hutt events calendar.
‘‘We wanted to give Lower Hutt a new focus and put on an event that Lower Hutt could be proud of.’’
There will be 25 installations dotted around the Riddiford Gardens, St James Church, the Hutt City Council administration buildings and Dowse Square.
The regional event will stretch across all available space in the civic precinct allowing lights to interact with a variety of backdrops and environments.
Steed said locals, such as street artist Chimp, had been involved in designing the displays. An internationally-recognised installation, Affinity, has been bought over from Australia.
HighLight has partnered with Alzheimer’s Wellington to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s and dementia care. The Affinity installation serves to act as a conversation-starter about the conditions.
‘‘We’re lucky to have this incredible interactive light display as part of HighLight, which has been created to represent the connections between the neurons in our brains,’’ Steed said.
‘‘Attendees can walk through the neurons of this enormous structure and the artwork is stimulated by touch, encouraging people to interact with it and create new memories.’’
Each of the four nights would be capped off with a fireworks show. A magician, DJs and bands will also keep the crowds entertained. A collection of food trucks will be on site and cafes will stay open late.
The HighLight Carnival of Lights runs from October 20-23.