VisaWOAP Festival events for the whole whānau

September 10, 2020

Visa Wellington On a Plate isn’t solely for the big kids. We’re all about family fun for everyone™️! And what with the school holidays looming (26 Sept-11 Oct), you may be on the lookout for something to keep the little darlings entertained. 

Sometimes it’s really hard to know what holds their interest these days. But we have some super fun, kid-friendly culinary festival events that'll keep them entertained, informed, busy and fed (and we’re fairly certain you won’t mind tagging along either…).

Photography by Common Ground Café

Draw, Cook & Eat

The best kind of drawing classes are the ones that include food, right? Sadly, they’re pretty hard to come by. But not at Visa Wellington On a Plate! Wellington illustrator, Giselle Clarkson (of Biscuits and Slices of New Zealand fame), leads Draw, Cook & Eat (2 Oct), a kid-friendly illustration workshop where she'll teach them how to draw your favourite food and share her tips and tricks to make food look as appetising on paper as it does on the plate (ever noticed there’s something really enticing about beautifully illustrated food?). Giselle’s well-versed in this as she’s just recently completed lots of drool-worthy illustrations of kai for Alexandra Tylee's latest cookbook, Egg and Spoon: An Illustrated Cookbook. After learning how to draw delicious food, you get to make it, with a recipe from the Egg and Spoon cookbook! Bonus: this is a free event but registration is required.

Photography by Lulu Bar

Lulu’s Island Luau

Sure, you can’t hop on a plane and take the kids to an island getaway at this point in time, but 

Lulu’s Island Luau (3 Oct) is the closest thing you’ll get to it in Wellington. This event was extremely popular with families last year, so bring the whole whānau and enjoy an afternoon of feasting on Pacific delicacies such as succulent slow-cooked lamb, ika mata, palusami, chop suey and crispy roasted pig. Top it off with some tiki cocktails (for the big kids and little kids), and some mood-liftin’, holiday vibin’ live music from local musos. 

Photography by Havana Bar

Go Nuts For Donuts

Another excuse to take the kids on a “trip” around the world! Havana Bar presents Go Nuts For Donuts (11, 18, 25 Oct), where they dish up eight different donuts from a range of cultures, both sweet and savoury, traditional and experimental. An adult ticket includes one donut and a boozy shake of your choice, but they can make up a non-boozy version for your underage dining partner/drinker. 

Photography by Bottega

Bambini Pizza Class

Are you just waiting for the day when your kids turn around, and say, “Don’t worry, guys, I’ve got dinner covered tonight”? Or, conversely, do you dread it because they just have no idea what to do in the kitchen? A solution for both: Bambini Pizza Class (11 Oct). This hands on pizza class, tailored especially for kids, gives them a hands-on experience, where they’ll discover the secret of making and baking their favourite pizzas and breads, the magic of rising dough, and stone-baked pizza using quality ingredients. Yes, parents are invited - and you’ll even get to try the final results. We guarantee you won’t have to pretend it’s delicious, because it will be. That’s how good this class is. 

Photography by Carello del Gelato

A few sweet as Festival events

There’s nothing like a culinary festival to unleash your sweet tooth on the world. But here’s the thing - kids don’t really need an excuse. Show them you’re the bestest parents in the entire world by taking them to some of these sweet as Festival events. (Yes, it's a treat. And yes, they’ll brush their teeth afterwards.) 

They can learn to make their own authentic gelato and sorbetto at Carello del Gelato’s It’ll Be Sweet (3 Oct) masterclass, where they’ll go behind-the-scenes in the Carello’s kitchen. Or they can join the One Cake, Three Ways Masterclass (4 Oct) with Bridget Cheesman, one of Welly's leading cake artists and owner of Cake it Forward. They’ll learn to make Bridget's famous crazy chocolate cake (there’s a vegan option too!), as well as fill, stack, ice and decorate cakes with lots of tips and tricks along the way (the class is suited for kids aged 12+).

If you just want sweet treats without learning how to make them, pop over to Zelati Dessert Cafe’s La Vega Loca (22-25 Oct) in Left Bank for their range of all-vegan, 100% plant-based and 100% delicious ice creams, gelatos, baked goods, sundaes, waffles, cookies and toppings!

Photography by BambuchiSan

Corn Doggy Dog

Is your child a bit of a fusspot when it comes to eating? Alternatively, you may have a kid who’s beginning to take an interest in different flavours and cuisines. BambuchiSan hosts Corn Doggy Dogg, a super fun, month-long culinary event that will introduce both to Asian street food, with an array of loaded Korean-style hot dogs, miso chocolate brownies and BambuchiSan’s Corn "D-O-double G". So get down with the cool kids, drop it like it's hot, and get your doggs at BambuchiSan.

There are loads of kid-friendly and family-friendly festival events that’ll keep both kids, parents and collective pukus happy. Check out visawoap.com to read up on more Festival events… plus, y’know, Garage Project presents Burger Wellington is just around the corner (12-31 Oct). And we all know that kids of all ages love a burg! 

Grab your Visa Wellington On a Plate event tickets at visawoap.com.