 The Gathering is New Zealand's most popular outdoor dance event. It has featured on Oprah Winfreys Top Ten things to do for the Millenium, attracts people from all over the world and of course all over NZ. The New Years Event is always alcohol free, and features hundreds of performers, artists, musicians, and production crew. The Gathering is the brainchild of Nelson resident Murray Kingi, who together with Jose Cachemaille, Grant Smithies, Tim Owens, Mel and
Zippy - and the help of a large and enthusiastic crew - created the
first Gathering high on top of Canaan Downs for New Years 1996/97.
Over the years many dedicated crew members have joined the Gathering
family, some for one or two parties, others for the duration, but
always with love and a strong sense of community.
During the past four years The Gathering has grown from a small
underground event of 4,000 to a mindblowing 13,000+ for the
millennium party - G2000. It has become a way of life for many of the
core crew, and an event which is madly anticipated by every Gatherer
for the 362 days in between each party. G1 - The Gathering 2001 -
will be moving to a new and beautiful venue in Golden Bay - and it
remains to be seen whether numbers will level off this year, or
whether the party has reached critical mass and will keep on growing.
The Gathering's core message is Unity Through Diversity - an
expression of the amazing talent we have right here in Aotearoa -
with musical styles and zones to suit every niche of the NZ dance
scene. With its high production values, incredible decorations which
get larger and more complex every year, roving performers at every
turn and some of New Zealand's finest DJs, live acts and VJs on show,
The Gathering has become something of an icon to its many followers.
The Gathering "vibe" has always been at the very heart of the party,
and is what makes it such a special event.
"The Gathering is a festival of music, dance, freedom and participation.
Your presence creates The Gathering.
Take care, we are all responsible for the environment.
Be nice humans."
Graphics and text used courstey of Ali Green of Webweaver Productions.
Gathering 96 / 97.
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The Gathering 96/97 featured over 100 DJs and several bands. A sign at the entrance, which read "expect delays" nicely summed-up the traffic jam and huge popularilty. |
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97 / 98.
40 people were still dancing at 7.30am on the last day of this years Gathering sited in Canaan Downs, perched high on Takaka Hill and in the midst of ancient beech forest in eerie lime karst countryside
Long hours waiting in traffic jams gave people time to relax, socialise and start psyching up for the fun ahead. Police were nowhere to be seen.
The site is full of deep craters where water has eroded the earth, rocky outcrops, old tree stumps and surrounded by bush-covered hills, all adding to an other-wordly experience. Marquees are home to 100's Hardcore, House Drum n Bass, Dub ,Hip Hop, Tribal, Trance and Techno DJ's
At midnight a huge cry goes up, fireworks explode high above the crowd and the music picks up tempo.
The ambient "chill zone" is popular during the day. People sleep on its crater slopes, the slow music wafting around, relaxing minds and bodies.
One organiser, Grant Smithies, says it is important for Nelson to have such a culturally significant event for youth and many people have contacted the organsers pleading for it to stay at Canaan Downs. |
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Gathering Christchurch 1998.
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 98 / 99
 The phenomenon that is The Gathering is a high end option for New Year's Eve celebrating in New Zealand at the end of the 20th century. As well as being a very pleasant place to be for a few days, hanging out in a pristine enviroment with 8000 or so very friendly people, it's also a kick-ass get down and go hard party, with hundreds of great DJs, live acts, visuals and kickin' sound gear to dance to. The music in all seven zones goes the full 48 hours, so you can wander from scene to scene choosing the exact sound you need at any given moment. The house tent at last year's party was incredible, the music as good as any local or international gig since or before. Or maybe it's just that the vibe's so good it all sounds better.
The venue is an open-air series of natural amphitheatres 2,500 feet above sea level on top of Takaka Hill near Nelson. The temperature can drop to near freezing at night and climbs to around 30 degrees during the day. The first year 4,000 people came. Last year all 8,000 tickets sold out in advance of the event, making it New Zealand's biggest dance party by far.
The Gathering 98/99 is organised by a core crew of 3 directors - who put together a team of around 200 multi-talented artists, technicians and organisers - all of whom are deeply into the rave scene in NZ. Add to this over 100 DJs from around the country, 35 acts creating live electronic music, 100 or so performers (such as jugglers, stilt-walkers, dancers etc) and a team of 20 VJs performing in 7 separate musical zones around the site, and you can see why people come from all over the country (and also now from overseas) to attend the event.
The party is alcohol-free and we reserve the right to search people on entry and confiscate alcohol. As a consequence of this, the local police have not felt the need to have a presence at the event, and there is no violence or trouble. It is estimated that the 1997/98 Gathering brought $4million into the local economy, and New Year's Eve in Nelson has become much more peaceful and much less hassle for police since we started doing the event."
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99 / 00
Rained out and muddy with only the hardcore braving it for the music, The 99/00 Gathering featuring a nice little booklet with all the information needed for survival.
The Gathering is one of the quietly realised success stories of alternative music culture in New Zealand and this is set to be the best yet, no question. Set in the tranquil surrounds of Takaka Hill Nelson, all 6000 tickets sold out weeks ago and it is to The Gathering's credit that they've resisted the temptation to sell twice that, which they could have done easily.
The lineup is far too big to list here but some of the highlights include Presha, OB1 and Kog Transmissions (Auck), Grind, Eden and The Roots Foundation (Welli), Point Blank, Scientific and Sure to Rise (ChCh) and Eudaemony (Dunedin). There are six different music zones but our pick has to be Clinton Smiley and Gideon going back to back as the grumpy old men of techno, playing 9pm-midnight on NYE in the house tent.
Tickets have been bought from countries as diverse as Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Holland, Israel, Japan, Norfolk Island, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thaliand, and the UK. The Gathering is also reportedly no. 7 on Oprah's Top 10 Millennium events list.
- taken from Re:Mix Dec 1999
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