The Picton Maritime Festival is a fun day out for the whole family
One of our favourite events on the Picton events calendar is the annual Picton Maritime Festival. This year the festival will be held on Saturday 21 January and it promises to be bigger and better than ever. This will be the 12th year the festival has been held down on Picton’s foreshore and the Picton Yacht Club Hotel is in prime position to enjoy all the festivities on the day.
What’s the Picton Maritime Festival all about?
The Picton Maritime Festival set out with a clear goal: to create a FREE family oriented event that celebrates the unique maritime heritage of Picton and the Marlborough Sounds. What the festival has become is much more than that. It’s a chance for families and friends to come together, for kids to learn about the region’s heritage in a fun and engaging way and most of all it’s an opportunity for the whole community to come together without having to worry about expensive entry fees.
The event organisers are expecting another bumper turnout in 2017 with over 6,000 visitors to the Maritime Festival last year.
What’s on at the Picton Maritime Festival?
The Festival really is a celebration of all things maritime but it’s all about having some fun too. There will be a whole range of market stalls at the event which are usually extremely popular with visitors but the real fun is often found out on the water. From the raft race to the youth clinker boat race, it’s an opportunity for families and friends to get together and have some fun.
The raft race is a highlight of the Festival
Our main highlight is the raft race. All you need is a team of four people and you can either race one of the Festival’s rafts or better still, build your own. There are all sorts of weird and wonderful rafts that enter the race and usually a couple that don’t make it to the finish line! There are plenty of lifeguards on duty though so don’t worry and it’s a great way to have some fun out on the water.
The event runs from 11.00am until late and the highlight for many is the evening firework extravaganza which is not to be missed.
Entertainment
There is entertainment for the kids throughout the day
As well as the market stalls and fun games, there is also live entertainment throughout the day from local bands and groups. Brett Tutheridge from One Entertainment will be your MC for the day and there will also be appearances by Scott Radovanovich from The Hits, the Queen Charlotte College Kapa Haka Group, Halo, Captain Festus McBoyle, Levity Beet and more.
For a full guide to the live entertainment, check out the Picton Maritime Festival website.
Accommodation
If you have never been in Picton for the Maritime Festival before, we definitely recommend a trip here, especially if you have got young kids. There are still rooms available at the Picton Yacht Club Hotel so check out our great deals online. Check out our Facebook page where we currently have a fantastic offer of 10% off all rooms.
To find out more about the Picton Maritime Festival, please visit the official website for full details including the programme of events.
*All images courtesy of the Picton Maritime Festival Facebook page[:zh]
The Picton Maritime Festival is a fun day out for the whole family
One of our favourite events on the Picton events calendar is the annual Picton Maritime Festival. This year the festival will be held on Saturday 21 January and it promises to be bigger and better than ever. This will be the 12th year the festival has been held down on Picton’s foreshore and the Picton Yacht Club Hotel is in prime position to enjoy all the festivities on the day.
What’s the Picton Maritime Festival all about?
The Picton Maritime Festival set out with a clear goal: to create a FREE family oriented event that celebrates the unique maritime heritage of Picton and the Marlborough Sounds. What the festival has become is much more than that. It’s a chance for families and friends to come together, for kids to learn about the region’s heritage in a fun and engaging way and most of all it’s an opportunity for the whole community to come together without having to worry about expensive entry fees.
The event organisers are expecting another bumper turnout in 2017 with over 6,000 visitors to the Maritime Festival last year.
What’s on at the Picton Maritime Festival?
The Festival really is a celebration of all things maritime but it’s all about having some fun too. There will be a whole range of market stalls at the event which are usually extremely popular with visitors but the real fun is often found out on the water. From the raft race to the youth clinker boat race, it’s an opportunity for families and friends to get together and have some fun.
The raft race is a highlight of the Festival
Our main highlight is the raft race. All you need is a team of four people and you can either race one of the Festival’s rafts or better still, build your own. There are all sorts of weird and wonderful rafts that enter the race and usually a couple that don’t make it to the finish line! There are plenty of lifeguards on duty though so don’t worry and it’s a great way to have some fun out on the water.
The event runs from 11.00am until late and the highlight for many is the evening firework extravaganza which is not to be missed.
Entertainment
There is entertainment for the kids throughout the day
As well as the market stalls and fun games, there is also live entertainment throughout the day from local bands and groups. Brett Tutheridge from One Entertainment will be your MC for the day and there will also be appearances by Scott Radovanovich from The Hits, the Queen Charlotte College Kapa Haka Group, Halo, Captain Festus McBoyle, Levity Beet and more.
For a full guide to the live entertainment, check out the Picton Maritime Festival website.
Accommodation
If you have never been in Picton for the Maritime Festival before, we definitely recommend a trip here, especially if you have got young kids. There are still rooms available at the Picton Yacht Club Hotel so check out our great deals online. Check out our Facebook page where we currently have a fantastic offer of 10% off all rooms.
To find out more about the Picton Maritime Festival, please visit the official website for full details including the programme of events.
*All images courtesy of the Picton Maritime Festival Facebook page