Hobbit Artisan Market for Premiere

Wellington's Waitangi Park is set to be overrun with hairy feet when it transforms into a Hobbit Artisan Market just days before the city hosts the worldwide premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

With Wellington renamed as the Middle of Middle-earth for the week, The Hobbit Artisan Market will be its Shire, full of all things Middle-earth from Saturday 24 November until the end of the premiere on Wednesday 28 November.

Wellington City Council says the free and family-focussed market will be a special attraction that all the city's residents will be able to enjoy.

The market has been designed by WCC in partnership with businesses from the local creative industries and will feature local artists who have worked on the movies.

"We're very lucky to live and work with an incredibly talented and diverse range of artists and craftspeople here in Wellington," says Matt Dravitzki of Wingnut Films. "This is a wonderful opportunity for these artisans to showcase their work, beyond what the world is about to see on the screen"

There will be animals from the movies, prosthetic demonstrations, competitions and Hobbit-themed New Zealand food. Stalls will run from 12 noon to 6pm daily and from Sunday until Tuesday, each of the three films in The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy will play on a big screen in the market from 6-9pm.

Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown says The Hobbit Artisan Market is a brilliant part of the lead-up to the worldwide premiere.

"With the city full of international media and visitors, in the days leading up to the premiere, The Hobbit Artisan Market will showcase extraordinary craft-skills and products to take home."

From glass blowers to leather workers, jewellers to sculptors, 30 artists will be displaying and selling their work at the five day market.

The Council's Events Portfolio Leader, Councillor John Morrison, says there will also be plenty of activities to entertain kids and big kids alike.

"The market is definitely a family-focussed event with lots of free entertainment. Over the five days there'll be prosthetics demonstrations like how to look like an Orc, competitions - including best-dressed Hobbit costume and apple bobbing - and, of course, on the day of the premiere, there'll be a free live feed of red carpet activities for those who want a more spacious view of the action."

The market will operate from 12 noon to 6pm daily with food stalls remaining open during the movies and red carpet screenings.