It’s been a long time in the making, but the popular Upsurge Bay of Islands Arts Festival is back – with a lineup of talented artists and performers from the Bay of Islands and around Aotearoa.

Tickets for the eight-day festival, which showcases a mix of theatre, dance, music and writer’s events from September 18 to 25, go on sale on Monday.

Festival directors, theatre producer Caroline Armstrong and her husband, renowned New Zealand playwright Dave Armstrong, are “super excited” at the return of the festival, which was last held in April 2019.

Six months later the Armstrongs were appointed joint directors of Upsurge, taking over from Sophie Kelly.

“It’s been a long haul,” Caroline said.

“We were appointed October 2019 as directors, then were working toward 2021, but then the world changed and we pushed it out to April this year but the world changed again. So it’s been a really long process.

“For both of us, it feels incredibly exciting that it’s happening after all this time.”

Twenty-two performances will be held in venues around the Bay of Islands, including St John the Baptist church in Waimate North, the Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell and at The Black Box theatre and the Turner Centre in Kerikeri.

The programme kicks off with a mihi whakatau (welcome) at the Kororipo Basin hosted by Ngāti Rēhia, the hāpu and kaitiaki (guardians) of the area.

One highlight of the programme on September 21 will be the country’s most prestigious dance company performing at the Turner Centre.

During the first half of the evening, the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) will present The Autumn Ball, “a joyful dance through the seasons and cycles of life, full of tenderness, grace and floor-filling fun”, created by RNZB choreographer in residence Sarah Foster-Sproull.

Immediately following, children from the Bay of Islands International Academy, Kerikeri Primary, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Taumārere and Oromahoe School will present their own story through dance, music and movement.

Up to 100 kids are involved.

RNZB senior dance educator Lauren Byrne and local kapa haka expert Horace Maunsell have been working with tamariki to help them prepare for the unique performance.

“That’s a phenomenal achievement to be working with the ballet and local young people on a project that’s going to be presented at the Turner Centre,” Caroline said.

Another “must-see” is A Traveller’s Guide to Turkish Dogs, a play created by former Kerikeri resident Barnaby Olson.

Olson, who now lives in Auckland, has toured the show at festivals throughout Aotearoa.

A journey across continents, Turkish Dogs is a true story about a dog and her man which features mad historians, immortal fishermen, dangerous border crossings, buried treasure and a heart-warming lesson about the value of canine companionship.

Touted as “a young man’s OE like you’ve never seen”, it will be performed at the Turner Centre.

“It’s a beautiful show, it’s lovely that after it’s toured everywhere else, Upsurge can bring it home,” Caroline said.

Other performances include New Zealand-based singer and blues guitarist Paul Ubana Jones, and internationally acclaimed New Zealand violinist Amalia Hall.

Hall’s recital will include Bach’s magnificent Chaconne and Paganini’s famous final Caprice No. 24.

There will also be a weekend of thought-provoking sessions with local writers and some well-known names from around the country.

Dame Fiona Kidman will talk about her latest book and how her childhood growing up in Kerikeri and Waipu has shaped her life.

Other writers with a Northland connection include locals Lauren Roche and Ataria Sharman who will discuss their latest novels, and poet Glenn Colquhoun, whose first collection of poetry called The Art of Walking Upright was inspired by his experience of living and working in Te Tii for a year.

* Visit www.upsurgefestival.co.nz for tickets and more information.