Save the Dates: 5–8 May 2022
Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival 2022
Armchair Travel for Labour Weekend 2021
SATURDAY 23 OCTOBER 2021
Rick Gekoski: A Life in Books
SATURDAY 23 OCTOBER, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon
Anzac Hall complex, 62 Bell Street, Featherston
A conversation with Rick Gekoski and Noelle McCarthy travelling through his life and times, the people he’s met, the dragons he’s slain and his books.Tickets $25 plus Eventfinda fees.
INTERMISSION: 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm, Anzac Hall complex, 62 Bell Street, Featherston
The Featherston Poetry Competition award ceremony and poetry reading.
Sponsored by Featherston Own’s Charitable Trust.
A Biker's Tale - John Hellemans
SATURDAY 23 OCTOBER, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Anzac Hall complex, 62 Bell Street, Featherston
John Hellemans shares hilarious details of his cycling adventure during the 2018 Tour Aotearoa in his book A Biker’s Tale with fellow elite sportsperson, Professor Roger Robinson. Thank you to Green Jersey Cycle Tours for their sponsorship of this event. Tickets $25 plus Eventfinda fees.
A special thank you to patrons Liz Stringer and Rob Morrison for their generous donation which has enabled Featherston Booktown to stage these events.
The Edible Backyard with Kath Irvine
SATURDAY 6 NOVEMBER
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm (doors open at 4:00 pm)
The Trade Hall 1, Solway Showgrounds, Corner Fleet & York Street, Masterton
Organic garden teacher and designer, Kath Irvine, talks gardening tips, experience and joy with Guy Somerset, former arts and culture editor for the New Zealand Listener.
The Kitchenmaid and the Wine Writer
talk Homecooked
SATURDAY 20 NOVEMBER
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm, Artisanal Fair starts at 1:00 pm
Anzac Hall Complex, 62 Bell Street, Featherston
Lucy’s new book launched, book for sale and book will be signed during an artisanal food fair featuring food producers and cookbook stalls from the South Wairarapa. Artisanal food fair starts at 1:00 pm in the Anzac Hall complex.
Can we ask you a favour?
Featherston Booktown is a charity and in a normal year ticket sales make up a substantial part of our income. Recently, however, Covid restrictions mean our box office revenue has been severely reduced, while many of our costs are fixed.
We have also decided not to charge for events that are shown online as we want to make sure that any of our events are open to the widest possible audience.
Would you consider helping us fill the funding gap by making a donation? We know that not everyone is in a position to do so, but every gift helps us deliver the Karukatea Festival and our other events throughout the year and supports our writers and readers.
We hope you enjoy our online events and that you come away inspired and uplifted. Thank you again for supporting Featherston Booktown.
Make a Donation
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Click on the green button below and you'll be redirected to a form on a new browser tab using POLi Pay.
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Type in a donation amount and please provide your name and your email address so that we can email you receipt - as all donations are tax deductible as Featherston Booktown is a registered charity.
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You may be prompted to prove you are a human by selected images from a standard Captcha 'security' feature
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You will be asked to choose your NZ bank and then you'll need to supply your Internet Banking login details, the account you wish to pay from and a 'Payers' code.
...Thank you. We really do appreciate your support.
Lydia Wevers Online Tribute
Due to the complications of the COVID lockdown we have had to postpone the online tribute for Lydia Wevers until further notice.
We will update this information once the timing for the new event date has been finalised.
Thank you for your patience!
Booktown Comics!
Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival 2021 - in comic format! By the wonderfully talented Tara Black.
Recent News
What's a Booktown?
Booktowns are an international phenomenon, celebrating books, from their stories through to their paper, glue and ink.
Featherston is now a fully-fledged, internationally recognised Booktown.
Featherston Booktown Karukatea
Two cultures share our wonderful country – and region – and, at Featherston Booktown, we seek to recognise and bring that to life. After consulting Mana Whenua, we are proud to reveal the Te Reo expression of Featherston Booktown.
Karukatea means “the clear and observant eye” – with karu the word for “eye” and katea meaning “clarity”. The word takes in the narrative of our region (Wairarapa Moana being one eye of the fish and Wellington Harbour being the other eye of Māui’s fish). On a deeper level, the word also captures the concept of people seeking knowledge and clarity.
Our sincere thanks to Liz Mellish and Robin Potangaroa (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa) for their help and guidance through the process of finding an appropriate Te Reo expression of Featherston Booktown.
Stay up-to-date
Keep an eye on our Facebook page for news and updates for the upcoming Featherston Booktown events throughout the year.