The Nelson Arts Festival is one of New Zealand's longest-running and most loved regional arts festivals, held each October in the sunny city of Nelson at the top of the South Island. Over two weeks, it fills the city with theatre, music, visual art, dance, comedy, street performance and community events that celebrate both local creativity and the best of national and international arts practice.
Nelson has long had a strong identity as an arts city, with a thriving community of painters, sculptors, jewellers, ceramicists and performing artists who have chosen to make their home in one of New Zealand's most beautiful regions. The Arts Festival reflects and amplifies this identity, drawing audiences from across the South Island and beyond who combine festival attendance with exploration of the region's galleries, craft studios, wineries and landscapes.
For visitors, the Nelson Arts Festival offers a genuinely enriching way to experience the city. October is one of Nelson's finest months — warm, sunny and alive with the energy of spring — and the combination of quality arts programming, the city's own creative culture and the surrounding natural beauty of Te Tauihu makes it one of the most rewarding festival destinations in Aotearoa.