Logo for the Local Wild Food Festival featuring antlers, a fork, a knife, and a spoon, with green, black, and white colors.

The Local Wild Food Festival is one of the Eastern Bay of Plenty’s most iconic events, celebrating abundant food found in our diverse natural environment.

Showcasing food from the land, rivers, lakes and sea, the festival brings together resourceful people passionate about sustainable living. You won’t find anything too wild or whacky at our wild food festival – just good food foraged, grown, caught or hunted from our environment.

Join us for a day of wild food tastings, demonstrations, cooking challenges and live music set amongst ancient Pōhutukawa, overlooking the Best Beach in Aotearoa.

Group of six people standing outdoors near the ocean with a small island in the background, smiling at the camera.

Our Story: The Local Wild Food Festival

The Origin

The Local Wild Food Festival (LWFF) began as part of an international movement launched in 2008 by Bill Manson in Eastbourne, New Zealand. The vision was simple yet powerful: celebrate nature’s bounty, promote sustainability, and showcase the resourcefulness of communities living close to the land. Before Covid-19, these events were held in nine countries, inspiring people to reconnect with wild food and the environments that sustain us.

Group of smiling people, including children and adults, posing in front of a traditional Polynesian building with wooden carvings and a steeply pitched roof, outdoors on a sunny day.

Whakatāne Joins the Journey

Whakatāne District Council hosted its first LWFF in 2013, embracing Bill’s vision and weaving it into our local culture. Here in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, we’re surrounded by native bush, rivers, lakes, ocean, and harbour inlets – all rich with wild food. Fishing, diving, hunting, and growing are part of who we are. With a strong Māori presence (around 50% of our population), kai Māori traditions like harvesting, foraging, and rongoā (traditional medicine) are central to the festival, creating learning opportunities for everyone.

A group of diverse people are gathered around a table outdoors, eating food served in takeout boxes. They are smiling and appear to be enjoying a communal meal at a sunny event.

Growing Together

Since 2013, LWFF has become an annual highlight in Whakatāne. It started at Te Manuka Tūtahi, Mataatua marae, then moved to Ōhope Beach to welcome bigger crowds. Even during Covid, smaller events kept the kaupapa alive. Today, the festival attracts around 2,600 visitors each year. The Local Wild Food Festival is a celebration of our heritage, environment, and creativity. It’s a place to learn, taste, and connect – and it has grown into one of the Eastern Bay’s most iconic events.