Save the Dates: 6–9 May 2021
Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival 2021
Nau mai, Haere mai...
and a warm welcome to the Featherston Booktown Karukatea Festival 2021!
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.