About

The Stewart Island/Rakiura Community Calendar is a great tool for local island residents, businesses, projects and visitors alike. The idea was born in the Future Rakiura group. This is a strategic community leadership group which aims to help bring the community together and complete projects that make things better on Rakiura, now and into the future.

For island visitors

You get a wide range of experiences while you’re traveling. In big cities you can wander through the downtown streets of the central business area and stumble onto a variety of events, performances, dining options amongst many others. When you travel to a small place like Rakiura, that approach might not always have the same results.

We know how that feels but with the Stewart Island/Rakiura Community Calendar you can plan ahead. You don’t need to miss out on your weekly guided yoga sessions. Maybe playing cards with the locals sounds like a great way to spend a rainy morning. The island has regular open invite events like our famous Waitangi Hangi celebration which brings everyone together in the spirit of Te Tiriti o Waitangi along with an amazing cultural feast and entertainment. Sausage sizzles are another favourite and a great opportunity to marvel at the island’s industrial sized barbecue. You’ll need to make the all-important decision – “sauce and onions?”. Cruise ship market days, Bluff vs Stewart Island rugby matches, the Rakiura Challenge, there’s a surprising amount of things going on for a small place like Rakiura. Is your green thumb itching? Why not help out in the community nursery or browse our community garden.

Now you can plan ahead and see what’s on before you arrive on our beautiful island.

For local residents

We are a small community but we do a lot. The Community Calendar is a way to see what’s going on, when and where. By having overall visibility of the many and varied events we can pick the best time to schedule something new.

This no longer needs to be the case. Jump onto the calendar and find a free spot that will work well. Find new things to get involved with and connect with your community. Things can quieten off in the winter so why not have a go at some badminton in the hall or limber up for summer with various guided exercise sessions.

The calendar will help provide visibility and accessibility to improve scheduling and build engagement through participation and inclusion. We all know that our various volunteer organisations need as much help as we can give them, whether it be the fire brigade, the search and rescue crew or the health committee. Anything that makes it easier to plan, organise and increase visibility has to be a good thing.

The team behind the calendar

Future Rakiura is a strategic planning group based on Stewart Island/Rakiura. We’re a vibrant and enthusiastic group who aim to make things easier and better for island residents and visitors alike. The idea for a community calendar to help coordinate events had been around for a while and we kicked things into action in early 2023.