EVENTS
The Duke Festival is centred around a 3 day Surfing and Skateboarding Competition which attracts some of the best and best upcoming Surfers and Skaters in New Zealand. The competitions are free for spectators and take place at the heart of our Festival - The New Brighton Pier and Amphitheatre. Over The 3 Days we have a range of Events for the community. The only ticketed event is the Salty Sessions Live Music Event. The Duke Festival ethos is to make the entire festival accessible to all and welcome all people and our furry friends with open arms. The ticket prices for this are kept at an affordable price so the whole festival is accessible to all.
SALTY SESSIONS
Salty Sessions is the Duke Festival's main Live music event. In previous years, Salty Sessions has seen Tiki Taane, Soaked Oats, Dolphin Friendly, The Hoots, The Wendy’s and last year, Pieces of Molly headline the event.
Ticket prices are kept low to make the gig accessible to everyone in the community and the gig seeks to give local bands and artists opening opportunities.
GET READY FOR A NIGHT OF ROCK N ROLL
SATURDAY 22ND MARCH 2025!
STOKED ART EXHIBITION
CARVE STREET ART TRAIL
STOKED art exhibition is a collaborative exhibition that showcases local art and marks the opening of the Duke Festival. Any commission based profits that are generated from the exhibition go directly toward the running of the festival for the next year and surf and ocean safety lessons for children on the East of Christchurch. In 2025, we will see the 9th Stoked Art Exhibition. Artists are selected for STOKED based on the interests of our community.
CARVE Street Art Trail is a new event which will launch at the 2025 Duke Festival thanks to Christchurch City Council. It aims to be an extension to the STOKED art exhibition which has been running for 9 years. 18 top, local and emerging artists come together to create a trail of hand-painted/crafted surfboards throughout New Brighton mall and its surroundings leading to the site of Duke’s surf and skate competitions. Each artist is given an iconic spot around New Brighton where they will create a piece of art celebrating the cultural richness and deep sense of belonging in Ōrua Paeroa (New Brighton). From coastal appreciation, ocean wildlife to Polynesian and Māori cultural links to our area, each surfboard is a reflection of what New Brighton means to the artist. Keep an eye out for more information on this new event!
The Duke Festival strives to achieve diverse line ups within both of the creative events, whether that be in gender, ethnicity, age or style. The aim of the exhibition is to showcase the talent we have in our community. Both events are run/co run by two local artists that teach art in our community and who whakapapa (have family lineage) to Polynesian culture: Georgia Harmon (Samoa) and Dark Ballad (Ngai Tahu). Opening evening is full of cultural performance, music and art and coincides with Registration.
COMMUNITY
We have a number of mini events to cater to everyone!
You don't have to be into surfing and skateboarding to celebrate The Duke Festival.
In 2024, we had the following events:
Good Vibes Mākete
Sandcastle Competition
Beach Cricket by Canterbury Cricket
Duke Dogs Competition
All were free for the community to attend or participate..
CULTURAL
PERFORMANCE
For the last few years, we have included local primary school Kapa Haka into the closing of our festival. In 2024, The Duke Crew decided to connect the Festival to it's Polynesian roots and celebrate the diverse cultures which enrich our community.
Avonside Girls' High School showcased their Polyfest performance at our opening which was an amazing display of Polynesian culture, not just in their performance but also the crowd they generated and the aroha/aloha/alofa they brought to our opening! We love you Avonside!
As we have a large community of Japanese Surfers, we invited Ta Kumi Japanese Drummers to open the Skateboarding event. Ta Kumi created an amazing atmosphere to kick off the competition. The skaters were stoked to have the performance pump them up for their heats!
The Duke Festival would love to include more cultural performance
and create long lasting friendships with our Polynesian and Micronesian communities! Please get in touch if you think you would love to help
us develop this further!
