On the second Saturday of January, Uretara Domain on the edge of Katikati fills with camp chairs, picnic rugs, food stalls and a main stage, and a small orchard town throws the biggest party on its calendar. The Katikati avocado festival, officially the Katikati Avocado Food and Wine Festival and now branded Katikati Avo Fest, has run since 2004 and draws crowds from across the Bay of Plenty and beyond.
Here is how the festival works: when it runs, what tickets have cost, how to get there without driving, what you can bring, and where to stay.
What the Katikati Avocado Festival is
The Katikati Avocado Food and Wine Festival is a one-day, midday-to-6pm festival of food, wine, beer and live music held each January at Uretara Domain in Katikati.
The festival celebrates Katikati's status as New Zealand's Avocado Capital, and many of the vendors cook with avocados. Organisers describe a family-friendly day of food, wine, entertainment, product displays, cooking demonstrations and activities for children.
It is run by the Katikati FunFest Charitable Trust with the town's promotions organisation, Katch Katikati, which manages the event and its sponsors.
When is the next Katikati Avocado Festival?
The date for the 2027 festival had not been announced as of September 2026. The last two festivals were both held on the second Saturday of January, from midday to 6pm.
The 2025 festival ran on Saturday 11 January 2025, and the 2026 festival on Saturday 10 January 2026, both at Uretara Domain. If the pattern holds, the 2027 festival would fall in mid-January, but check the official Katikati Avo Fest website for the confirmed date before booking travel or accommodation.
Tickets for the 2026 festival went on sale on 1 October 2025, so news of the next festival is likely to come in spring.
Katikati Avo Fest tickets and prices
Tickets are sold online and at The Arts Junction in Katikati before the day, and there are no gate sales at the festival itself.
For the 2026 festival, adult tickets cost $55 at the early bird price, $65 as a general ticket until the night before, and $75 on the day. A premium ticket at $100 included a shaded marquee with catering. Youth tickets for ages 15 to 17 cost $20, and children aged 14 and under got in free with an adult. Expect prices for the next festival to be similar, and confirm them when tickets go on sale.
Every ticket includes entry, a branded plastic festival glass and access to all the entertainment. On arrival, collect your glass and wristband from the Glass and Wristband tent by each entrance. The wristband shows vendors you are over 18 and can be served alcohol.
Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable except as required by law, and the festival goes ahead regardless of the weather.
Getting to the festival: buses, parking and taxis
Festival buses have run return trips to Katikati from Waihi, Waihi Beach and Athenree, Ōmokoroa, Bethlehem and Tauranga, booked with or separately from your festival ticket.
A festival bus is the easiest way to enjoy the wine without worrying about the drive home. Bus tickets for 2026 were sold through the same ticketing site as festival tickets, and taxi services also operate on the day.
If you drive, parking at the venue is off Crossley Street for a $5 cash fee, or you can park on the surrounding streets and walk in. Mobility parking is off Mulgan Street, down the church driveway.
For motorhomes, the organisers have offered parking at Katikati Primary School on Beach Road for $20 a night per vehicle, and members of the New Zealand Motor Caravan Association are welcomed.
What happens on the day
Gates open at midday, and the afternoon runs to 6pm with bands on the main stage, cooking demonstrations in a kitchen marquee, local food and drink vendors and entertainment for children.
The line-up changes every year and has featured well-known New Zealand acts. In 2025, reggae band Katchafire headlined, with Tauranga blues and roots band Kokomo, Tiki Taane and White Chapel Jak playing before them.
The 2026 festival brought cookbook author Chelsea Winter to host hourly cooking demonstrations in the Seeka Kitchen Marquee, using avocados in dishes from flatbreads with whipped feta to smoked salmon cups, followed by a book signing at 5pm.
If you lose a child in the crowd, tell the volunteers at the Wristband Tent by the main entrance. The Red Cross first aid station is at the main gate.
What you can and cannot bring to Katikati Avo Fest
Leave your own food and drink at home: only sealed water bottles, or empty bottles to refill at the free water stations at the front and back gates, are allowed.
Food for babies up to one year old is fine, and the organisers say allergy-free food is available from vendors. Bring your own chair or picnic rug. Sun umbrellas and shades up to one metre high are allowed, but gazebos are not.
Dogs are not allowed, except service animals. Smoking and vaping are not permitted anywhere in Uretara Domain.
Bring cash if you can. EFTPOS cash-out is available on site at the main gate, with fees, but cash makes buying food and drinks quicker.
If you are aged 18 to 25, bring proof of age: a driver licence, HANZ 18+ card or passport. You must be 18 or over to drink, and birth certificates are not accepted as ID.
When you leave, remember the streets around Uretara Domain are a liquor ban area, so no drinking in public outside the venue.
Sun, heat and weather on festival day
The organisers warn that Katikati can be very hot in January, and the long-term averages back them up: a hot January day in Katikati averages a high of about 24°C, and it is the driest month of the year. Bring sunblock, a hat and sunglasses, and use the free water stations.
Premium ticket holders get a shaded, catered marquee. Everyone else should come prepared for an afternoon outdoors, with a sun umbrella under a metre high if you want your own shade.
Where to stay for the festival
Katikati is a small town with a limited number of beds, so book as soon as the festival date is announced.
The organisers themselves suggest the Talisman Hotel, ASURE Kaimai View Motel and Sapphire Springs. The Katikati Motel on Fairview Road is about a kilometre from Uretara Domain.
For self-contained campers, Uretara Domain itself has a freedom camping area, and the options from motels to cottages are laid out as you book a room further out of town.
Making a weekend of it
The festival is a Saturday, which leaves Sunday free. Stay the night and spend it on the murals, the Bird Gardens or a morning hot pool.
The Sunday farmers market at the War Memorial Hall on Main Road is a natural next-morning stop, and an orchard tour shows how the town's avocados are grown. If you have never been, it all makes more sense once you know how Katikati became the Avocado Capital of New Zealand.
Frequently asked questions
Published June 28, 2026
