Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival 2021 in Waikato

The annual Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival has been the Waikato’s premier arts event for well over 20 years. This vibrant outdoor festival showcases an exciting collection of the region’s creative community and a curated selection of national and international touring shows, predominantly staged within the magical setting of the Hamilton Gardens.

The festival provides unique arts experiences that engage a wide selection of the community, both in Hamilton and the wider Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions. Music, theatre, dance, comedy, family events and garden experiences provide opportunities to inspire, and to be inspired, each year – enriching the lives of the many who attend, as well as performers and volunteers alike.

Our mission as an organisation is to curate an international arts festival which attracts and engages new audiences, celebrates the Mighty Waikato, using the unique performance platform of the Hamilton Gardens and key venues in the Hamilton City CBD. In late 2018, the Festival Trustees revisited the Festival’s key objectives and as a result, the 2020 Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival sees the first stage of this highly successful event’s evolution into one that supports the region’s phenomenal growth.