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Wellyfest – notice of 2026 AGM

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Wellyfest – AGM Sunday 1 March 2026 2 pm

Upstairs at The Office Bar, 124 Riddiford Street, Newtown

The AGM will be held on Sunday 1st March.

Location: Upstairs at The Office Bar, 124 Riddiford Street, Newtown.

Kicking off at 2 pm.

Calling Nominees

Would you like to share your voice and mahi on our Committee this year, or to nominate someone to do so?

Several current members are intending to retire so there is plenty of room for new people to bring new ideas.

Nominations can be made (and accepted) at the meeting, or you can drop us a message to secretarywff@gmail.com either indicating your interest or nominating someone.

Nominees for Committee need to agree to accept a nomination. If the nominee cannot attend the AGM, we will need their agreement to be nominated in writing and in advance. This can be done by the nominated person emailing to the Secretary.

To vote at the meeting you need to have paid the annual membership subscription ($1). Subs can be paid on the day at the meeting – preferably in cash. If you are not able to physically attend the meeting but wish to be, or remain, a member you can pay by electronic transfer to 03-1537-0013906-00 with your name in the “particulars”, and “sub2026” as the reference.

Collaboration

Would you like to help out, but the idea of formal committee commitment doesn’t work for you?

We are also looking for folk who are willing to help out with planning, publicity, organisational or administrative tasks on the working groups during the year. There are many areas where you might offer your skills, special talent and magic powers!

Do you have an interest in areas such as, communication and marketing, managing and organising people tasks and rosters, project co-ordination, graphic design, music management, Website and IT skills, or are you an admin junkie? Would you like to help on the Youth Gathering? Drop us a line to secretarywff@gmail.com.

Notice of Annual General Meeting – Wellington Regional Folk Foundation Inc
Date: Sunday,1 March 2026

Time: 2pm

Where: Upstairs at The Office Bar, 124 Riddiford Street, Newtown.

AGENDA

1. Present

2. Apologies

3. Minutes of the 2025 AGM

4. Matters Arising (not covered elsewhere in the agenda)

5. President’s report

6. 2025 Performance Report including Annual Financial Statements

7. Election of the committee:

a. President

b. Treasurer

c. Secretary

d. Committee members (up to 7)

8. Appointment of the Reviewer

9. Setting of the subscription

10. General business

Please note that if you wish to nominate someone for a committee role who is NOT able to be present at the meeting, you will need to bring with you written confirmation (an email will do) of their willingness to stand, or to have let us know in advance.

Seeking guest applications for Wellyfest 2026

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Calling all folk musicians! Help us to shape the start of the 7th decade of folk music festivals in Wellington. We need great talent to perform, host workshops and lead our dance programme for the 2026 Wellington Folk Festival.
Experienced or just starting out? Check it out! You could be just what we are looking for! The range of musical genres gets wider every year. All ages welcome. If you’d like to be in the programme in any of these capacities (or know people who might), here is a link to our online application form:

Guest application form for the 2026 Festival (23 -26 October 2026)

Applications close at midnight on Saturday 28th February 2026.

Feel free to forward this link to your friends or anyone you’d like to see on our guest list. Applications are encouraged in any of these areas:

  • Concerts or other performance
  • Dance in a variety of traditional and modern styles
  • Workshops on dance, musicianship, performance, specific instruments, cultural and historic influences and evolution of folk music and dance
  • Learning (and fun) activities for kids

The application form has specific guidance on how to put together your application. It’s important to complete the form in full so we have a consistent basis for comparing potential guests and preparing a rough programme.

Have look under the “Our history” tab if you want to find out about the guest artists we’ve had in the past.

We expect to be in contact with shortlisted guests by the end of April.

Poster: WELLYFEST2026 artist application poster

Online ticket purchase closes 23 October

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Despite multiple setbacks (hire company liquidation and this week’s stormy weather), Wellyfest 2025 kicks off as scheduled tomorrow, Friday 24 October. There’s a great line-up of guests on the main stage and in the Balladeer tent, along with a vibrant Village Green, a popping programme for younger folk, buzzing Blackboard concerts, wonderful workshops, a dazzling dance programme, and plenty of other opportunities to join in.

You can still purchase tickets online from Humanitix until later tonight (23 October), which will save some time at the desk. Tickets are available for the whole weekend or for single days or evenings.

Registrations for children aged 12 or under are free and the youth programme (for children and youth aged 5 – 18) is included in the Festival registration.

You will be able to buy tickets at the gate from 3pm on Friday 24 October. (Bunks usually sell out in advance of the Festival.)

For a full breakdown of ticket prices, please see the ticket page. Or go straight to the Humanitix page to book now.

Online ticket purchase extended to 23 October

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Update: you can now purchase tickets online from Humanitix until 23 October for the 2025 60th Wellington Folk Festival.

Registrations for children aged 12 or under are free as we celebrate being “60 years young”, and there’s another great youth programme running this year, included in the Festival registration for children and youth aged 5 – 18.

You will be able to buy tickets at the gate from 3pm on Friday 24 October. If you want a bunk, it’s best to book as soon as possible as they usually sell out in advance of the Festival.

For a full breakdown of ticket prices, please see the ticket page. Or go straight to the Humanitix page to book now.

Gathering Wellyfest history

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60 Festivals in 61 years!

What an amazing feat! How many have you attended? What are your highlights and favourite memories?

We’re planning to continue the tradition of writing up history of the festival every ten years, and we’d love to include your reminiscences. Janette Munneke will be out at the festival with a voice recorder – please think about some recollections you’d like to share and come and chat with her during the Festival, or you can email them to this address: wffmemories@gmail.com

To jog your memory, you can view many of the past programmes on the Wellyfest website at this link: https://wellingtonfolkfestival.org.nz/past-programmes/ (but beware, you might get lost for a while!). There will also be a slideshow and some poster boards at the Festival.

For more info about the history project, go to this page website: Gathering Wellyfest history | Wellington Folk Festival.

Tickets available to purchase till 19 October

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Earlybird tickets for the 2025 60th Wellington Folk Festival have now closed, but you can buy tickets online until 19 October at the presale price from Humanitix.

Registrations for children aged 12 or under are free as we celebrate being “60 years young”, and there’s another great youth programme running this year, included in the Festival registration for children and youth aged 5 – 18.

You will be able to buy tickets at the gate from 3pm on Friday 24 October. If you want a bunk, it’s best to book as soon as possible as they usually sell out in advance of the Festival.

For a full breakdown of ticket prices, please see the ticket page. Or go straight to the Humanitix page to book now.

Earlybird tickets close this Sunday

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Tickets for the 2025 60th Wellington Folk Festival are now on sale at Humanitix. Early bird prices run until midnight 28 September.

There’s a small increase in most prices this year, so do get in early to keep your costs down. On the plus side, registrations for children aged 12 or under are free as we celebrate being “60 years young”, and there’s another great youth programme running this year, included in the Festival registration for children and youth aged 5 – 18.

For a full breakdown of ticket prices, please see the ticket page. Or go straight to the Humanitix page to book now.

Book extra early for a chance to win a free registration!

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Tickets for the 2025 60th Anniversary edition of the Wellington Folk Festival are on sale at Humanitix. Early bird prices run until midnight 28 September, but if you buy yours before Sunday 21 September (extra early) you’ll go into the draw to win the cost of your ticket back.

Remember children aged 12 or under get in free.

Village Green stallholders also get two free registrations per stall – if you know anyone who might have a product to sell, please have them make an enquiry by email to alexanderdouglaswright@gmail.com with “Village Green” in the subject line.

For a full breakdown of ticket prices, please see the ticket page.

A further call for stallholders on the Village Green

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The stalls of the Village Green are one of the things that adds to the colour and vibe of the Festival, but one that has thinned out a little over recent years.  We are keen to try to build it up again. There are spaces available for folk to sell folk-related craft and produce.  

Last year Alexander Wright had a stall on the Village Green for the first time and enjoyed the experience so much he has put up his hand to coordinate the Village Green this year.

As in previous years there is no charge for having a stall and we have increased the number of free registrations per stall to two. 

If you are interested in having a stall at Wellyfest 2025, drop an email to alexanderdouglaswright@gmail.com with “Village Green” in the subject line.  And if you know people who may be interested please pass the word on. 

Help us spread the word!

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We are keen to try to spread the word about the Festival beyond established folky circles and to the wider “music interested“ community.  You may be able to help.

Posters – We have posters in search of homes, in bars, cafe’s, bookshops or wherever else they may do useful work .  We have the city centre pretty well covered but need help to get them out into the suburbs and the wider region.  If you know places in your local area where you think you could place some, drop a line to Don at secretarywff@gmail.com letting him know where you are and how many you would like and he will try to figure out how to get them to you.

Beer mats – We have also invented cool little beer mats with the “60 years young” logo on them. 

We have homed a bunch of these at the bars around the city where live music happens, but again have not reached far into the suburbs or the wider region.  If there are bars or cafes that host live music in your neighbourhood where you think they might be placed again drop a line to Don at secretarywff@gmail.com with the details.  Offer valid while stocks last.

But wait there’s more.  

Signage – We have resurected and are looking to repurpose some 80cm x 240cm coreflute hoardings, originally made for the 2018 Festival.  We would like to home these up in high visibility spots with high vehicle and/or pedestrian traffic.   If there are spots in your town where you think you can find a home for one, again drop a line to Don at secretarywff@gmail.com with the details (and if possible a snapshot).