Behind the WOMAD curtain

Happy New Year!

Chris Herlihy is one of the experienced team members working for WOMAD NZ again this year, and is hard at work with the rest of the team putting together an amazing world class festival for New Zealand to enjoy. Chris takes on three job roles throughout the year and the months leading up to the WOMAD festival.

Before the festival Chris’s roles are both Business and Logistics Manager. As the Business Manager Chris lets me in on some of the sorts of things he does leading up to the big weekend. “Organizing flights for all artists, booking accommodation for these artists while they are in New Zealand, also a large part is liaising with WOMAD Australia as they to have huge ties with the international acts that come to WOMAD NZ”. Chris tells me that there are 400 artists at this year’s WOMAD and he has booked over 200 hotel rooms. Another interesting job that Chris has organized is accommodation at a local marae for 100 of the performing artists who have requested to stay there.

As soon as WOMAD weekend hits Chris changes it up and becomes  Site Operations Manager, which means he is out and about onsite at the festival overseeing  technical elements such as coordinating gates and entrances into the festival, security, the information centre and St Johns (first aid medical care).

“Giving the best platform to the performers” is very important to Chris and the WOMAD team, this is so they are feeling happy to perform and have a positive view of the WOMAD festival and New Zealand.  One of the platforms and traditions that the artists receive when they arrive in New Zealand is a formal powhiri, which this year will be held at Owae Marae in Waitara. This event is Chris’s favorite part of the job as he describes it as a very spiritual and moving time for both him and the artists. Chris remembers how moved one artist was at last year’s powhiri. “A member from Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (New York, USA based band) turned to me and said I am blown away by this experience and my children and grandchildren will know of this moment”.