Te Ramaroa is a celebration of community, creativity and the wonder of light.
Te Ramaroa is a free outdoor event featuring light installations on every scale, from tiny discoveries, through to magnificent multi-storeyed projections. Te Ramaroa celebrates the alluring qualities of light – to illuminate, dazzle, transform, and to make a winter’s night a whole lot more magical.
Since the first event in 2013, Te Ramaroa (formerly Light Nelson) has become one of Nelson’s largest and favourite biennial events. The event was founded on its commitment to showcasing installations by a diverse selection of local artists, schools and community groups. These are augmented by a select number of invited artists and designers.
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2021 was the fifth year for Te Ramaroa with the big change being the move into the city centre.
We moved the festival's footprint to span the wider city centre so we could discover our city in a whole new light. Over five crisp and clear winter evenings, the 30+ installations and fantastic performances brought more than 50,000 people into the city.
The positive feedback was wonderful affirmation of the changes. The best reward of course, was watching the city come alive with people dancing in the streets and seeing the delight and smiles on everyone’s faces.
“Te Ramaroa has been constantly evolving since 2013, and in 2021 we took it a step further by moving into the city centre," Chair of Te Ramaroa Trust Bronwyn Monopoli said. "We’re so pleased that the new layout was so well embraced, and the streets came alive with people criss-crossing the city to the various installation sites. We believe that the move into the city made the event even more accessible to our community, while still retaining the wonder and surprise of what has become Nelson’s much-loved and unique light festival.
Our thanks go to all who made Te Ramaroa 2021 such a marvellous success."
Find some beautiful images in our 2021 gallery and relive the magic with our event video.
