The highly successful Hawkes Bay Yoga Festival was the first event to take place through Sports Marketing Australia’s international program attracting hundreds of wellbeing event tourists to the region through the support of Hawkes Bay Tourism, Napier City Council and now Nelson City Council.

The first festival was held in Napier in 2021 and was a great success attracting more than 500 participants over the weekend with 57% travelling from outside the host region. The festival includes mindfulness, sound healings and multiple workshops held in the beautiful waterfront Napier Conference and Event Centre. Run by Yoga Festivals Australia, the event was the first of its kind for the New Zealand market. 

The event has continued to grow in 2022 and 2023 with close to 600 participants attending last year.  The festival included 48 instructors working across five different spaces and offering 56 classes. A further 3-year agreement was recently secured so the region can continue hosting the event in Hawkes Bay for 2024-2026.

Due to the success, the festival has further expanded and will be held in Nelson for the first time in March this year attracting health and wellbeing enthusiasts from all over the country and internationally. 

The festival will offer access to yoga classes suitable for all skill levels including Vinyasa, Hatha, Yoga Nidra, Yin, Kundalini and more.

Event organiser, Rosie Richards, said the festivals were very well supported. Ms Richards created the festival series and also runs the Starlight Festival and other yoga festivals throughout Australia

There is also the opportunity to enjoy the stunning natural surrounds of New Zealand and the regions including Nelson’s golden beaches, untouched forests and rugged mountain landscapes. 

Hawkes Bay Council Events Manager, Kevin Murphy praised the festival. “This was an awesome opportunity to see an established Yoga festival in Australia making its debut in Hawke’s Bay,” he said. “It was wonderful seeing the people of Hawke’s Bay and the wider regions experience the festival.”

 Caption: Among the instructors is Paula Vintiner who has been sharing her Yoga expertise since 2016 and opened her studio, YO Yoga NZ, in Hawke’s Bay in 2019.