Director and actor Jason Te Mete is gearing up to wow audiences at this year’s Pride Festival.
The festival will open with the Pride Gala which includes a list of show stopping entertainment hosted by Labour MP's Louisa Wall and Tamati Coffey.
Te Mete says the inspiration for his passion for music and theatre stems from his whanau, “I'm Tauranga born and raised. We're really musical whānau. So the music is in my bones and blood and it has really inspired what I do as in artist.”
Te Mete is also the mastermind behind this year’s annual dress up occassion and the theme is Rainbow Warrior: Pride and Peace.
“We have to celebrate the fact that we are all warriors in our own rights and what we've accomplished and overcome in our own lives and this is our chance to celebrate,” says Te Mete.
Pride Gala is a variety show which celebrates the LGBT community.
“It's my first time running the Pride Gala and I'm really excited to bring my take and to have some of the artistic license to it,” says Te Mete.
“We've got some incredible items that are going to knock the ball out of the park.”
The event opens on February 2 at Auckland’s Q Theatre.