The Ōtepoti Dunedin Heritage Festival starts this weekend.
There will be 92 events highlighting and celebrating the city’s remarkable history and built heritage.
Festival co-ordinator Alison Breese said the festival, led by the Southern Heritage Trust, would run throughout October and had the theme "growing heritage", which focused on providing education and raising awareness of heritage matters.
Events in the festival would give local people a chance to explore heritage buildings, enjoy fascinating talks and stories, dress up for a vintage family picnic, enter a photo competition, and take part in online activities.
A key event in the programme will be the vintage garden party at Dunedin Botanic Garden, from 11am on October 8, which will celebrate its 160th anniversary.
It is organised in conjunction with the Friends of the Dunedin Botanic Garden and Dunedin City Council.
The event will include live entertainment and tours, and people are invited to dress up and bring a picnic.
Dunedin Gasworks Museum is also celebrating its 160th anniversary this year.
It will hold a Gasworks Growers and Craft Market, from 10am on October 7, to celebrate.
Some of Dunedin’s most remarkable historic buildings would be open for tour groups during the festival, including the Dominican Priory, the Quarantine Island married quarters, Knox Church, Dunedin North cemetery, Taieri Historical Park and the Cable Car Museum.
There will be many great talks from experts in the festival, which have been turned into a "Talks After 5" series.
There is also a "Heritage Bytes" pecha kucha-style storytelling evening on October 5.
The festival hub at the Otago Pioneer Women’s Hall, in Moray Pl, will host the "Talks After 5" series, from 5.30pm on October 6, and October 9-12.
Topics will include mothers in Seacliff Asylum, prison labour and the formation of Dunedin, architect William Henry Clayton, the Ralph Hotere studio and heritage on the rails.
Walking tours will also be a feature of the festival, including Tales from Darkest Dunedin debuting its new walking tour, the "Dynamite and Opium" tour of Dunedin’s "Devil’s Half Acre", on October 7 and 14.
Ms Breese said the response to the Ōtepoti Dunedin Heritage Festival had been "fantastic" from across the community.
Individuals, businesses and organisations were all keen to get involved.
"We have such an amazing array of events happening.
"It’s going to be a great month of focusing on heritage," she said.
- For more festival information and a full programme, visit https://www.southernheritage.org.nz/heritage-festival
