Search for top tastes and tipples
12 of the best sought for Womad ‘Taste of Taranaki Pop-up’
The most delicious delights in Taranaki are being hunted out to take centre stage at the award-winning Womad festival. Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki has launched a search to find up to 12 of the region’s tastiest foods and non-alcoholic beverages to be showcased at Womad in a three-day “Taste of Taranaki Pop-up”.
Backed by a kaleidoscopic soundtrack of diverse music, the pop-up will be packed with tastings and stories of innovation, while offering Womad audiences the chance to chat with producers and snap up some of the region’s yummiest creations to take home with them.
Following the success of the Taste of Taranaki Pop-up in Eltham, the regional development agency is calling on local producers to put themselves forward for the Womad popup selection process.
Brylee Flutey, general manager of destination at Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki, says the Womad popup will be an exceptional platform to nurture the growth of early-stage and emerging businesses.
“It’s a moment for us to share our unique food story and proudly demonstrate our strengths to the many visitors and locals who will experience Womad this March.”
As well as showcasing the diversity of the food and non-alcoholic beverage scene, the Womad pop-up will highlight the untapped potential for thriving food tourism in Taranaki.
“With food tourism on the rise and food provenance having never been more important, we’re working strategically to connect our producers with new audiences that have the potential to bring significant impact to our food and beverage industry.”
The first Taste of Taranaki Popup ran for 12 weeks in Eltham in the summer of 2021/22 and was a hugely successful collaboration between Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki and South Taranaki District Council.
TAFT chief executive Suzanne Porter visited the Eltham pop-up and was one of thousands impressed by the 20 producers and their creations — including sausages, honey, freshly baked bread, sweet treats, specialty cheeses, dips, coffee and seasonings.
“It was a feel-good event that showcased just how talented our Taranaki foodies are,” Suzanne says.
“Building on that success and collaborating to bring a Taste of Taranaki Pop-up to Womad gives our top local producers the opportunity to
reach new people, with almost 70 per cent of our festival-goers in 2023 being from outside of the region. It also offers our Womad audiences yet another great experience at the festival.”
Festival-goers will be able to check out the pop-up alongside sensational Womad artists, with reggae icon Ziggy Marley, Ukrainian folk music quartet DakhaBrakha and electro-pop royalty Strawpeople among the artists already announced.
The full artist line-up for Womad 2024, including the programme for World of Words and the OMV Steam Lab, will be announced on Wednesday October 25.
Applications for the Taste of Taranaki Pop-up at Womad open on October 18 at www. venture.org.nz/sectordevelopment/womad-2024, and vendors have four weeks to make their pitch.