Event noticeboard: Manu Aute, majestic felines and dreamy pop
Last year a kite came into my life. I found it in a clearance box at the surplus supermarket Why Knot on sale for $1. It's about one metre wide and shaped somewhat like a whai with a black body and a long rainbow-striped tail. A sucker for bargains and activities to do with friends that aren't just sitting around drinking, I bought it home with me. The price did not include a line, but luckily there are various semi-seized and otherwise bad fishing reels in my shed, and one was easily rigged up.
Lovely things happen when you fly a kite. Your friends can easily find you on a packed beach. You can loiter while looking busy. Sometimes that secondhand feeling of soaring can bring a tear to the eye. But my favourite is when you fly it in a park, everyone who is walking or running through is totally awestruck by the beauty of the flying nylon construction. They stop, point it out to their companions, take photos of it and smile. Meanwhile, all you have to do is stand there holding the line and keeping an eye on the wind.
This Sunday, hundreds of kites will be flown from the summit of Puketāpapa Manu in Auckland. Some will be so big that they have to be tied down to cars, and the flapping cluster will be visible from kilometres away. It's one of my favourite days on the city's calendar so my whai will be there, probably tangling other peoples lines.
Show: 74th Annual Hamilton Cat Show
Tamahere Community Hall, 21 Devine Rd, Tamahere, Hamilton
10am Sunday, July 6
$5 – $10
I have wanted to go to a cat show since reading Hairy Maclary's Showbusiness over and over again to my little brother. Of course Hairy Maclary gets loose inside, terrorises the cats and gets tangled in the bunting. But what I love most of all is the wonderful cats. The big white fluff, the snooty (but still cute) persian, the black grumpy one and all the little kittens.
Its hard to know exactly what a real-life cat show is like. There's online clues that cats are measured, weighed, taunted with long feathers and are in to win cellophane-wrapped hampers that include scratching poles. The Hamilton Cat Club officially promises over 160 'majestic felines' and an opportunity to vote for your favourite.
Whangārei
Dance: Céilídh Dance
Roost Restaurant & Bar, 28 Bank Street, Whangārei
6:30pm Saturday, July 5
$25
Follow a dance caller to join in the traditional group dances as a live Gaelic folk band (including a fiddle) plays.
Tāmaki Makaurau
Summit of Puketāpapa / Mt Roskill, 1109 Dominion Road
11am Sunday, July 6
Free
An annual spectacle of huge and tiny kites. Bring your own to fly or simply watch.
Raglan
Gisborne
'Dream-pop luminaries French for Rabbits return to the stage in full band formation for the first time in a year.'
Te Whanganui-a-Tara
Rongomaraeroa (Te Marae), Level 4, Te Papa Tongarewa
12.15pm Monday, July 14
Free
A lunchtime literary event series has begun in the city. This Monday hear from the authors of Surplus Women, Amma and This Compulsion In Us.
Nelson
Saxton Oval Pavilion, 142 Saxton Road East, Stoke, Nelson
10:30am Sunday, July 6
Free entry to the food and market stalls
Go eat something yum!
Ōtautahi
'Every year thousands of musicians congregate to celebrate the magic of brass bands and inspire the next generation by competing on the big stage from all across the motu.'
Isaac Theatre Royal, 145 Gloucester Street, Christchurch Central City
7:30pm Friday, July 4 and 2:30pm Sunday, July 6
$79-$129
NZ Opera presents Puccini's biggest banger! This staging of the OG tragi-romance stars an incredible local and international cast of singers accompanied by Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.
Ōtepoti
The Crown Hotel, 179 Rattray Street, Central Dunedin
8:30pm Saturday, July 5
$10-15
The banging duo HŌHĀ celebrate their 50th gig with Vagina Dry, Diesel Jenny and Synthetic Children.
Wānaka
Visual Art: Lost & Found
Gallery Thirty Three, 33 Helwick Street, Wānaka
10am – 5:30pm Monday – Friday,10am – 4pm Saturday – Sunday
Free entry
A playful exhibition bringing together beauty and the beast, pop-culture, colourful creatures, whimsical paintings, reimagined items and bad apples.
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The Spinoff
a day ago
- The Spinoff
Event noticeboard: Manu Aute, majestic felines and dreamy pop
The Spinoff's top picks of events from around the motu. Last year a kite came into my life. I found it in a clearance box at the surplus supermarket Why Knot on sale for $1. It's about one metre wide and shaped somewhat like a whai with a black body and a long rainbow-striped tail. A sucker for bargains and activities to do with friends that aren't just sitting around drinking, I bought it home with me. The price did not include a line, but luckily there are various semi-seized and otherwise bad fishing reels in my shed, and one was easily rigged up. Lovely things happen when you fly a kite. Your friends can easily find you on a packed beach. You can loiter while looking busy. Sometimes that secondhand feeling of soaring can bring a tear to the eye. But my favourite is when you fly it in a park, everyone who is walking or running through is totally awestruck by the beauty of the flying nylon construction. They stop, point it out to their companions, take photos of it and smile. Meanwhile, all you have to do is stand there holding the line and keeping an eye on the wind. This Sunday, hundreds of kites will be flown from the summit of Puketāpapa Manu in Auckland. Some will be so big that they have to be tied down to cars, and the flapping cluster will be visible from kilometres away. It's one of my favourite days on the city's calendar so my whai will be there, probably tangling other peoples lines. Show: 74th Annual Hamilton Cat Show Tamahere Community Hall, 21 Devine Rd, Tamahere, Hamilton 10am Sunday, July 6 $5 – $10 I have wanted to go to a cat show since reading Hairy Maclary's Showbusiness over and over again to my little brother. Of course Hairy Maclary gets loose inside, terrorises the cats and gets tangled in the bunting. But what I love most of all is the wonderful cats. The big white fluff, the snooty (but still cute) persian, the black grumpy one and all the little kittens. Its hard to know exactly what a real-life cat show is like. There's online clues that cats are measured, weighed, taunted with long feathers and are in to win cellophane-wrapped hampers that include scratching poles. The Hamilton Cat Club officially promises over 160 'majestic felines' and an opportunity to vote for your favourite. Whangārei Dance: Céilídh Dance Roost Restaurant & Bar, 28 Bank Street, Whangārei 6:30pm Saturday, July 5 $25 Follow a dance caller to join in the traditional group dances as a live Gaelic folk band (including a fiddle) plays. Tāmaki Makaurau Summit of Puketāpapa / Mt Roskill, 1109 Dominion Road 11am Sunday, July 6 Free An annual spectacle of huge and tiny kites. Bring your own to fly or simply watch. Raglan Gisborne 'Dream-pop luminaries French for Rabbits return to the stage in full band formation for the first time in a year.' Te Whanganui-a-Tara Rongomaraeroa (Te Marae), Level 4, Te Papa Tongarewa 12.15pm Monday, July 14 Free A lunchtime literary event series has begun in the city. This Monday hear from the authors of Surplus Women, Amma and This Compulsion In Us. Nelson Saxton Oval Pavilion, 142 Saxton Road East, Stoke, Nelson 10:30am Sunday, July 6 Free entry to the food and market stalls Go eat something yum! Ōtautahi 'Every year thousands of musicians congregate to celebrate the magic of brass bands and inspire the next generation by competing on the big stage from all across the motu.' Isaac Theatre Royal, 145 Gloucester Street, Christchurch Central City 7:30pm Friday, July 4 and 2:30pm Sunday, July 6 $79-$129 NZ Opera presents Puccini's biggest banger! This staging of the OG tragi-romance stars an incredible local and international cast of singers accompanied by Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. Ōtepoti The Crown Hotel, 179 Rattray Street, Central Dunedin 8:30pm Saturday, July 5 $10-15 The banging duo HŌHĀ celebrate their 50th gig with Vagina Dry, Diesel Jenny and Synthetic Children. Wānaka Visual Art: Lost & Found Gallery Thirty Three, 33 Helwick Street, Wānaka 10am – 5:30pm Monday – Friday,10am – 4pm Saturday – Sunday Free entry A playful exhibition bringing together beauty and the beast, pop-culture, colourful creatures, whimsical paintings, reimagined items and bad apples.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
A&P shows get funding boost from government
A boost from central government will give volunteer-led A&P shows the gift they need to keep on going, Southern organisers say. Gore A&P Association president Martin Powley said the government funds will be helpful in attracting a younger audience and in keeping people coming back. "We're struggling and that's an exceptionally nice present," he said. Royal Agricultural Society Southern District chair Rob Hall said the money works out as $1000 a year for four years, for each of the 94 shows across the country. He said the money has been earmarked for the many volunteers that help with the show. "We're all volunteers," Mr Powley said. "Everyone that puts stuff up, puts stuff down, comes to meetings every month, does the ram shows, they're all volunteers." Mr Powley said the money could also be used for advertising and entertainment to attract the younger audience and to keep them coming back. In the Gore association, only the secretary and the show secretary were on a wage, because they do "a heck of a lot" of work, Mr Powley said. They charge vendors a minimal fee for power, and the rest of the money is earned from admission. "We make money out of our gate and that's the only way we make money to keep the wheels going," Mr Powley said. Wyndham A&P Society president Mike Henderson said they were lucky in that their show was one of the bigger, stronger ones. "I say we're lucky, but I don't think we are, we work really hard to get those people on the gates," he said. "Lucky is not the right word for it, but we do have a good following." Mr Hall said it was the smaller, and therefore smaller budgeted, shows in the district who needed more help and were more volunteer-led. Mr Henderson said the Wyndham show had a "really, really good", young, enthusiastic committee which made their show a little stronger than the others. The Wyndham president said they were happy with the funding, as it recognised the importance of A&P shows in the rural sector. Minister of Agriculture Todd McClay said he had seen first hand the tireless hours volunteers put in to these shows. He also said he had seen how the much the small town committees had struggled to stretch a dollar, and wanted to ease some of the financial strain. "In every part of the country I've visited, people have told me the same thing — A&P shows are a fixture on the rural calendar, and they want their local show to keep going, but organisers have told me even small costs add up," he said. 'This funding sends a clear message: we see the work of rural New Zealand, we value your contribution, and we're making practical investments that are felt on the ground.'
NZ Herald
24-06-2025
- NZ Herald
Grandmother wins top prize in Auckland photography competition
Sarah Macmillan's photo After Rugby Practice claimed top prize in the Auckland Festival of Photography's annual 24-hour, day in the life of Auckland - Tāmaki Makaurau competition. A grandmother wielding her trusty smartphone has captured the top prize in an annual Auckland Festival of Photography competition. The 24-hour, day in the life of Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau competition took place over 24 hours from Friday June 6 to Saturday June 7. The hundreds of entries submitted have added to
