Wanganui has a lot to see and do. Here are a few of our favourites.

The Whanganui Literary Festival. A vibrant writers and readers festival held annually. 2009 boasted an amazing line-up of New Zealand authors, including Kate De Goldi, Dylan Thomas, Steve Braunias, Fiona Kidman and many others. Find out more here: Wanganui Literary Festival website

The Open Studios Weekend takes place annually in late March. Artists open their studios to everyone wishing to see just what goes into creating an artwork. The city boasts a diverse range of artistic talents including printmaking, painting, glass, ceramics, sculpture, music and multimedia creations. Whanganui Open Studios website

Wanganui Opera Week attracts opera students from all over New Zealand to participate in classes with leading tutors from around the world. The week also includes a number of public performances and masterclasses. The productions are not shown anywhere else in New Zealand. Royal Wanganui Opera House website

The River Traders market is held from 9am to 1pm every Saturday on the banks of the Wanganui River.

Besides the cafe culture and shopping, why not check out the Sarjeant Gallery. With more than 5000 artworks in the collection, major holdings of individual artists include Gretchen Albrecht, Robert McLeod, Warren Viscoe and Rodney Fumpston. The Gallery's rich holdings of the work of Edith Collier and Philip Trusttum are amplified by very large loan collections. The Sarjeant Gallery website

The Whanganui Regional Museum contains an extensive collection of natural and human history with a regional emphasis that includes objects of both national and international significance. Whanganui Regional Museum website

Wanganui has a rich collection of Heritage and riversides walks. Info about these and other energetic activites are available at the info centre.

Take a journey upriver on The Waimarie, New Zealand's only authentic paddle steamer. The Waimarie website

The Masters Games is a brilliant regular event shared between Wanganui and Dunedin. The next games hosted by Wanganui take place from the 10th to the 18th of February 2007. The Masters Games website

Wanganui Blooming Artz Festival is a celebration of garden and art, held every second year in late September (next Festival 2005) with seminars, workshops, garden tours, street theatre, entertainment, floral art and displays.
Email: yvonne.arts@xtra.co.nz

Whanganui Summer School of the Arts is a week of intensive workshops taught by leading national and international artists in a vibrant and friendly atmosphere of creative production and interaction. It is a festive period, with extra curricula activities to complement the workshops and encourage interaction between participants.
UCOL website

We work with a number of jet boat operators. If you fancy a spin up the river, we can organise the perfect experience for you, right from Riverwoods doorstep.

For a much more comprehensive guide, why not visit Great Events Wanganui, or Wanganui NZ to see what else is happening?