UpdateThis year, we are doing something different. The 7th November also happens to be the first day of the Kapiti Arts Trail where a many local artists and sculptors open their studio doors to the public. This has become an iconic event on the Kapiti Coast arts calendar and so we will be combining with the Wellington Tramway Museum that is currently running a
"Kapiti in the Movies" display in their large tram barn.
This display includes a small theatre where they are showing a number of short animated movies by the Kapiti based award winning Simmonds Brothers as well as a small theatre inside the tramcar used in the Peter Jackson version of "King Kong". The movie display also has a wide selection of vintage film-making and projection equipment as well as a real tramcar as part of a movie set. This set includes a large blue screen and a short movie playing where Peter Jackson details some of the behind the scenes work in the making of "King Kong".
The Tramway Museum opens its display area and commences tram running operations from 11am and runs through until 4.30pm. This year it is trialling a new concept to New Zealand and will remain open until around 10pm. The concept is based around a number of similar events held in various cities throughout Europe called
"Long Night of Museums". At these, visitors can pay one fee that allows entry into any of the museums combined with public transportation between them. For this first trial event in Kapiti, three organisations will be open after dark as detailed in the Tramway press release below.
The MovieFest Awards Ceremony will commence at 4pm in the temporary Tramway Theatre inside the museum?s display building. It will take the same form as in previous years where prizes will be awarded starting with the Primary School Category and interspersed with some light entertainment. The whole ceremony should take around an hour when tram rides will be available along with barbecued sausages and/or espresso coffee.
"THE LONG NIGHT" - a first for New Zealand PAEKAKARIKI, Wellington - October 30, 2009 - The Kapiti Coast Electric Tramway announced today that they will be opening their museum until late in the night on Saturday the 7th November as part of a wider event on the Kapiti Coast called
"The Long Night".
"The idea of opening the museum into the night was as the direct result of a member of the public alerting museum members to a regular event held in different cities in Europe under the common name of
"The Long Night of Museums"", said tramway secretary, Graeme Moffatt. "The first Long Night of Museums took place in Berlin in 1997 and now a common entrance pass allows visitors access to all venues along with public transportation in order to reach the various spots. All the museums are a center for live performances and food fetes and stay open from 7pm to early in the morning allowing visitors a fantastic opportunity to tour all the museums in each of the cities where they are run".
The tramway museum is very keen to trial this on the Kapiti Coast and have encouraged two other groups to join with them in this first event. Mr Moffatt commented that the Arts Trail in November was an ideal opportunity for the event to coincide with given the cultural nature of both activities. In this first such event to be organised in New Zealand, the ticketing and public transportation will not be a feature but should the outcome of the event meet with a positive feedback, this would be considered in subsequent years.
Bruce Benseman of the Nga Manu Nature Reserve is very upbeat about being involved with the event and says Nga Manu staff will be conducting guided tours around the reserve after dark to highlight the nocturnal activities of some of the resident wildlife. The first tour aimed at family groups will commence at 8.30pm with a more adult oriented one at 10pm.
The Kapiti Museum in Elizabeth Street in Waikanae will be adding coloured lighting and ballroom music to some mannequins on display with the aim of enhancing the overall display at the museum says museum member Peter Corlett.
Mr Moffatt added that the tramway museum will be running trams to their beach terminus throughout the day and into the night with some onboard activiites arranged once it gets dark. The tramway museum, including the
"Kapiti in the Movies" display, will also be open with a number of short movies and some live music on offer.
"With the solid growth in the number of visitors over the past couple of years, we commenced full time operations early this year and need to run regular events such as
"The Long Night", the monthly
"Sunday Funday" and the annual
"Anything Vintage Festival" just before Christmas. These events go a long way towards helping financially as the museum receives no regular funding apart from its own daily operations. The museum is totally voluntary and has been operating every weekend and public holiday for just over forty years and the move to a seven day operation has been a bold move,? said Mr Moffatt.
"The Long Night" runs from
Eight til Late at all three venues including the Tramway Museum at MacKay's Crossing, Queen Elizabeth Park just north of Paekakariki.
Further details can be found at <
www.longnight.co.nz>.
