Sanctuary Sounds is a not-for-profit, three-day music festival held on a rural property at 84 Takapau-Ormondville Road in Takapau, Central Hawke's Bay. Its annual festival takes place the first full weekend in December, and the organisers mark twenty years of music, with a yearly theme that guests are encouraged to dress up for. The festival showcases an eclectic mix of music from New Zealand and abroad, and it has a stall area with artists, tarot readers and massage therapists between the stages.
Gates open at noon on the Friday so campers can set up. Top Paddock is reserved for long wheelbase caravans, and tents and cars are in the back paddock. The site has a Ford to cross to reach the top paddock, and the festival advises against the crossing for cars that sit low to the ground. Kids 13 and under are free, and kids under 13 are free when accompanied by a paying adult. Food comes from several food trucks, and the bar prices are kept as affordable as possible. The festival says ticket money pays the musicians and the facilities, and it offers volunteer roles for people who cannot buy a ticket.