The wind is starting to abate here in Wellington (although still a bit gusty) and the sun is shining! It does augur well for the weekend which is expected to be “mainly fine” from Friday onwards.

Three important things to note:

1. The region is under a complete outdoor fire ban, so no camp fires this year.
2. There will still be wind, so campers make sure you have the necessary kit to anchor your tents to the ground effectively.
3. AND our hot fashion tip – there has been some rain today so the site may be a bit soggy. So “wellies rather than jandals” if you want to be one of the cool kids with dry feet.

The weather has disrupted preparations, through delaying the arrival of materials and people, and the Wainuiomata Hill Road has been closed today (Thursday), so there will still be things to do tomorrow. If you are arriving early on Friday and happy to help, grab a passing Committee member (identifiable by their green jackets) and ask if there is anything you can do to help.

Please note the Wainuiomata Hill Road was reopened today at 3:55pm. The Hutt City Council website said, ” Conditions are marginal – extreme care must be taken while driving over the hill.”

There’s been a ton of work going on behind the scenes to make sure we mark the 60th festival in style!

On Saturday at 4:00pm on the Main Stage there’s a 60th Anniversary Showcase concert featuring invited guests Chris Penman, Mike Moroney, the Madillionaires, Davy Stuart, Butter wouldn’t Melt, Mike Harding and the Wooden Box band.

In the evening that day, there’s a “60 Years Young” Invitation Concert in the Maire Hall, from 8pm till late, hosted by Mary Livingston and Vanessa McLellan.

A magnificent slideshow has been prepared by Gerard Hudson, and poster boards featuring photos of past performers and events has been set up by Sue Ikin.

Almost all 60 programmes from last festivals have been scanned and added to the website – feel free to have a browse and relive past times! And if you have any of the missing ones, do dig them out and bring them to the festival. We’ll scan them and return them to you as soon as possible.

As well as the historical outline in your printed programme, we are collating a more in-depth history to go up on the website. For this we’d like your help – if you have some memories you’d like to share, please look out for Janette Munneke on site – she’ll have an audio tape recorder to collect them. And/or send reminiscences to WFFmemories@gmail.com for inclusion in the ‘bigger picture’ history.