The Taiari Wai River Festival is a music festival with a purpose––to engage the Otago community in the extraordinary freshwater ecosystems of the Taieri/Taiari river. The festival, which is entering its second year after a very successful 2024 event, features top New Zealand music artists and is held in the village of Pātearoa, on the site of the old school. Artists this year include Mads Harrop, Jessie Shanks, Skin and Bone and the Tess Liautaud band. It is a daytime event with a strong family focus. Events related to freshwater conservation provide opportunities to learn and get involved. The aim of the festival is to provide a focal point for the Taiari river community to gather; to learn about and celebrate their river. The festival aims to be an annual event that links communities up and down the Taiari/Taieri river, from Dunedin to Alexandra and beyond. Our goal is for it to grow into a boutique festival that attracts music lovers from around the world. At the heart of the festival is community, nature and landscape. And of course, water—the lifeblood of the Taiari/Taieri.