Te Ramaroa: Bringing Nelson together in a different light
Lighting up Nelson through the power of giving.
Te Ramaroa transforms Nelson into an illuminated winter wonderland.
It lights up Nelson on some of the coolest nights of the year, but Te Ramaroa wouldn’t shine nearly so brightly without community support.
Te Ramaroa is a free, immersive biennial light festival that transforms Nelson into a canvas of illuminated art over five mid-winter nights. It attracts the largest number of people to an outdoor event in Nelson.
“Parents can bring children and have a wonderful night and not spend a cent,” Te Ramaroa Trust Chair Annette Milligan says. “It lures people out of their houses; they put on a warm coat and a hat and gloves and allow themselves to be cheered in the middle of winter.”
“I don’t know of another festival in Nelson which brings out such a cross section of people – young and old, different ethnicities, different socio-economic groups. It brings everyone together.”
Nearly 25% of Te Ramaroa’s budget is from donations, from “people who give out of the goodness of their heart” to support events like this in the city, Annette says.
“We’ve got a good group of supporters called Luminaries who dig into their pockets year after year, they enable us to deliver such a high-quality event,” Annette says.
Luminaries, those who donate $500 or more to Te Ramaroa, are treated to special pre-festival showings, bypassing long queues.
Donors play a critical role in bringing the community together, which seems more important than ever, Annette says.
“Events like Te Ramaroa only happen because individuals donate. It’s a way of giving a gift to the people of this city and to the city itself.”