Have questions about HighLight? Here are the answers to our most commonly asked queries, including accessibility.

HighLight: Carnival of Lights is a free public event that transforms Riddiford Garden in central Lower Hutt into a wonderland of brilliant light installations and live performances over four nights at Labour weekend. Check out our gallery to get a taste of what’s coming.

Each year, we partner with a local charity to help them raise awareness and funds. This year we have partnered with White Ribbon so please remember to bring along a gold coin for the collection buckets.

This is a uniquely Wellington region event which provides a creative laboratory for performers, artists and technicians to innovate and grow and is proudly brought to you by Hutt City Council with the help of our partners and sponsors.

Highlight is an annual event held over Labour Weekend. Here is some key information for 2019.

Dates: Friday to Monday, 25 – 28 October

Timing:

• 7pm More FM entertainment
• 8pm Lights on
• 9.30pm Fireworks
• 11pm Lights turned off

Yes please. The Way Café, White Ribbon donation collectors and the Glow in the Dark face painting all require cash.

Short of a serious storm, HighLight is an all-weather event. There are indoor spaces and most installations and performances will go ahead in wet weather.

HighLight is a popular event, but that doesn’t mean the crowds will ruin your day or stop you from experiencing everything on offer.
Arrive at 7pm for entertainment on the main stage with a strategy in mind for 8pm when the lights turn on, or we learnt last year that most people left immediately after the fireworks which are at 9.30pm. 

We will be regularly updating on the relative crowds through our Facebook page each night, so you can make your own call on whether you’d be comfortable. 

We have also closed part of Laings Road where it cuts through the carnival, and installations and performances are large and or elevated for visibility.

We’ve taken every precaution in the preparation of HighLight to ensure a safe event for all.  However, we remind parents and caregivers that you do need to supervise your children at all times.

Please report lost/found children to the nearest event staff. We ask that you keep a lost child as close to where you found them. In our experience, 90% of lost children are found when parents retrace their steps.

We love dogs, but on this occasion please leave them at home.

If you find an item please hand it to the nearest event crew member.

If you have lost an item, please email Hutt City Council and one of the team will be in touch.

Remove the pressure of finding a good car park and travel by Metlink bus and arrive within moments of the carnival. 

We are also putting on free bus services, departing 6.30pm and 8pm, returning 9.30pm and 10.30pm.
Friday – Naenae and Wainuiomata
Saturday – Stokes Valley and Taita
Please head into one of the above community hubs to book your space on these services.

If you are driving, click here to open google maps.

A lot of people come to this event, please be aware that finding a good car park might take time and you may have to walk.

The best opportunity for parking is the Riverbank car park. There are 847 parks available and security will be operating during the carnival. It’s a 5 minute walk to the carnival through the Lower Hutt CBD. 

332 parks are also available at Centre City Plaza Parking Building. Both carparks will close at midnight each night during the carnival.

In 2018, we diverted 78% of the event waste away from landfill and aim to be waste free by 2021.

All food and beverage packaging purchased onsite will be either compostable or recyclable. To support our effort to minimise event waste we ask that you consider this when bringing food or refreshments purchased offsite to HighLight.

We are introducing a reusable cup system for all hot drinks sold onsite. When purchasing your hot drink, pay a $3 deposit for the use of a reusable cup. When finished with your cup, simply return it and collect your deposit or even better drop it into one of our cup return bins and we will donate your $3 to our charity partner White Ribbon.

Collectors will be out and about on all four nights so please give generously. If you can’t find a collector please head to the White Ribbon Riders, marked on the map.

Or donate $3 today by texting highlight to 2452 

Contact us through our Facebook page, look our for our survey after the event or get in touch with Hutt City Council.

Photographs and/or video will be taken HighLight.
By signing an approval form, you grant the event organisers full rights to use the images resulting from the photography/video filming, and any reproductions or adaptations of the images for fundraising, publicity or other purposes to help achieve the group’s aims. This might include(but is not limited to), the right to use them in printed and online publicity, social media, press releases and funding applications.
If you do not wish to be photographed please inform the photographer.