WHAT'S THE BUZZ?
THE VISION
CELEBRATING THE INTRODUCTION
OF MODERN SURFING TO AOTEAROA
The Duke Festival is a non profit community Festival located
in New Brighton Christchurch. The Festival celebrates the
introduction of modern surfing to Aotearoa by an indigenous
Hawaiian, Duke Kahanamoku. Duke’s vision was to share love
through surfing and that is what the Festival has always achieved.
Known as the most inclusive surf Festival in Aotearoa, the Festival
celebrates Duke’s legacy by fostering talent and participation in
surfing and skateboarding to the highest quality through opportunities
for lessons, competitions and demonstration events.
The Festival cultivates and encourages visual arts, music
and cultural performance.
“In Hawai’i we greet friends, loved ones and strangers with Aloha,
which means with love. Aloha is the key word to the universal spirit of
real hospitality, which makes Hawai’i renowned as the world’s center
of understanding and fellowship. Try meeting or leaving people with Aloha.
You’ll be surprised by their reaction. I believe it and it is my creed.”
Aloha to you,
Duke Paoa Kahanamoku
Each year we aim to make the festival bigger and better and create more awareness around the historic Duke Kahanamoku demonstration event which took place in the exact spot that are competitions are held
FESTIVAL VALUES
The Festival's values are based on
Duke Kahanamoku's values. The Value's are:
ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT
& SPORTSMANSHIP
The festival is centred around Surfing and Skateboarding competitions. Both competition sites are within metres of each other and you can compete in both. The Surfing Competition is sanctioned by Surfing New Zealand and the Skateboarding is endorsed by Skateboarding NZ. Competitors travel from all over New Zealand to compete. You do not have to be club affiliated, a regular competitor, trial or pass a vibe check to enter, The Festival aims to be
inclusive of all competitors and make everyone feel like whānau.
ALOHA SPIRIT &
CULTURAL
AMBASSADORSHIP
Aloha has a deeper cultural and spiritual significance to native Hawaiians, for whom the term is used to define a force that holds together existence.
The earliest evidence of surfing history can be traced back to 12th century Polynesia. Cave paintings have been found which clearly illustrate ancient versions of surfing. Along with many other aspects of their culture, the Polynesians brought surfing to Hawaii, and it became popular from there. If you have ever spent a day paddling out on a board, you know that it can be an exhausting endurance test. So it comes as no surprise that Polynesian warriors used it as a means of fitness training. Because surfing requires so much fitness and strength, it was also used as the way to determine who would serve as chief in primitive Hawaiian tribes.
The Duke Festival aims to reconnect surfing in Aotearoa with its cultural roots. Captain James Cook recounted that he witnessed Māori surfing. The Festival achieves this by including Polynesian cultural performances by local primary and high schools. On the East we have a very rich cultural demographic and also include other cultural performances that aren't Polynesian but represent the cultures that enrich our community.
The Duke Festival hopes to inspire more Māori and Pasefika kids to get into surfing by funding surfing & ocean safety lessons for schools on the East of Christchurch. In 2024, South New Brighton, Rāwhiti, Linwood and New Brighton Catholic received these lessons.
INNOVATION
The Festival provides opportunity for local Artists in the visual art and music industries by putting on a collaborative art exhibition and a live music event. Art and music are definitive subcultures of Skateboarding and Surfing and many musicians and artists have been inspired or influenced by both sports. The Duke Festival in 2025 will host the 9th Stoked Art Exhibition and Salty Sessions gig. For the first time, The Duke Festival will welcome the celebration of New Brighton's rich street art culture and history by hosting the Carve Street Art trail thanks to Christchurch City Council.
BUILDING
COMMUNITY
The Duke Festival provides a large scale event to a lower to medium income area. The Festival hopes to support local business by bringing more people to New Brighton.
The community will be lifted by showcasing the talent Aotearoa has in Surfing, Skateboarding,Art and Music, raise awareness around a historic event for New Brighton and Surfing's cultural ties, and to provide a great Festival that is relevant to a diverse range of people.
The Duke Festival's ethos is to be accessible to all. The only ticketed event is the Salty Sessions Live Music event where tickets are kept affordable to give the whole community an opportunity to enjoy the event. All other events are kept free for public enjoyment and any profits made contribute to fund surf and ocean safety lessons for our eastern tamariki/rangatahi.