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Blogs / September 2008

October 2008 | August 2008
    • Tea Time!
      • It's time to put down that coffee mug and pick up the tea-cup. If you have paid any attention to kitsch culture in Wellington this year, you would have noticed dainty gold-rimmed teacups, high-tea and cupcakes (think Martha's Pantry) are back, which has lead to Wellington's first mass tea-party.The Sip Wellington Tea Party will take place at Chaffers Dock Function Centre this Sunday to celebrate all things tea, and bring back the art of tea-parties.Tea-cup collector Pamela Cronin is organising the event in a bid to reconnect people with the century's old art of tea drinking. Pam says that drinking coffee, and the clumpy mugs in comes in, has become more popular than tea over the years, but tea is due for a renaissance, something that young women are helping to bring back. Pam, and other enthusiastic collectors, will be displaying and selling about 150 tea-cups and saucers at the event, along with all sorts of other tea-related things, such as linen, silverware, Petone book store Poppy's books on tea, local business Shoc's chocolates, including their earl grey flavour. Zarbos, also at Chaffers Dock, will be putting on a high-tea and Old-Band Arcades' Tempt cupcakes will be accompanying the tea with their decorated, designer cupcakes. So make sure you go along, between 10 and 4pm, and revel in the age old tradition of tea (and cupcakes, chocolate, collectables and linen)! -Stacey. .
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      • petone

        • Petone, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • Screening of Ngatahi - Know Your Rights next Thursday
      • While Dean Hapeta was once better known for his excellent work with late 80s/90s hardcore rap group Upper Hutt Posse, he has since turned his hand to socio-political, digital filmmaking. And the world premiere of part five of his Ngatahi - Know The Links series of films will be screened next Thursday 9 October at the City Gallery. The hip-hop themed, six-part 'rapumentary' focuses on native arts and activism in twenty countries. The globe-trotting travelogue sees  writer/director/editor/producer Hapeta travel through countries and trace the links between minority cultures while investigating musical, political and social cultures. With a strong hip-hop theme, Hapeta finds and interviews like-minded activists in such varied places as Palestine, Ireland and the Philippines. Parts one and two of Ngatahi were in the official selection for the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and they are available on DVD should you want to catch up before you see the latest instalment. Koha/gold coin entry. - Kiran
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    • Watch Bare - Now at Downstage Theatre
      • "Once again the combination of great performances and dazzling writing makes for a thoroughly entertaining, gentle satire of 'our people today' that clearly stands the test of time. Go."Mary Anne Bourke (Theatreview) on BARE Love, sex, family, friendship, youth and bad movies at multiplexes - listen to our people talk!Directed by award-winning director Oliver Driver Toa Fraser's classic New Zealand comedy BARE is an hilarious matrix of urban poetry. Armed with the voice of the street, two actors riff on body image, films, takeaway food, graffiti and English literature. Downstage is proud to present this limited season (13 performances only!) of this new production of BARE that premiered at Silo Theatre in Auckland last year.
      • Tagged as:
      • theatre

        • Hannah Playhouse, 12, Cambridge Terrace, Mount Victoria, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • In the Museum of Curious Intent
      • When Arlo Edwards approached an art dealer with his work at the age of eighteen, the dealer told him to "come back in 10 years, and then maybe we’ll look at your work". Not content with such a response, Arlo embarked on a somewhat unorthodox curatorial career, and has been putting on exhibitions when and wherever he could for more than a decade. Toi Pōneke Gallery is the next venue for one of his projects, an exhibition of work by 10 local established and emerging artists.
      • Tagged as:
      • art
      • events

    • Spring Festival at the Botanic Gardens
      • Tulips, tours, art, "Crafty Fifi", the legendary Fairy Trina and more at this year's Spring Festival in the Botanic Gardens. Running from 28 September until 12 October. I can confirm that the recent (and typical for this time of year) gales have not denuded the tulip gardens & so weather permitting, Tulip Sunday on the first day of the Festival, should be a beautiful way to spend an hour or two communing with nature.
      • Tagged as:
      • events

        • Wellington Botanical Gardens, Wellington


    • Icon get no satisfaction
      • It has been announced by the Wellington City Council, that following on from the demise of the proposal for a Hilton Hotel, there will be an ideas competition for the end of the Outer T on Queens Wharf: currently home to an old tin shed, as I’m sure you all know. The Hilton-to-be, as you will recall, was vanquished by the continued badgering of the combined forces of Waterfront Watch and the Civic Trust (go Grey Power!), and no one much seems to have mourned its passing (blogged by Philip back in March). The Hilton’s Auckland architects have left town with their tails between their legs, probably destined never to want to return. While details for the competition for the replacement building have not been clarified yet, there’s one thing for sure: there’s going to be a call for it to be Iconic.
      • Tagged as:
      • hilton
      • waterfront

    • Free screening of 'Choke'
      • Bestselling author Chuck Palahniuk - the writer of Fight Club - returns to the big screen with an adaptation of his novel, Choke. The official opening date isn’t until October 30th, but Courteney Central cinemas are hosting a special FREE preview screening on Saturday the 27th of September.
      • Tagged as:
      • cinema
      • events

    • The New Wednesday
      • Tuesday nights at the San Francisco Bathhouse was once again established as a staple of weeknight night life in Wellington over the past few years, thanks to the Victoria Broadcasting Station, the VBC. But, after two years they have decided to switch to Wednesdays. Things don't look to be too different, there as still the drink specials, $4 tequila $3.50 handles, $7 jugs, and to sweeten the deal, you can get pizza and beer, any gourmet pizza from their menu and a jug of Macs Gold for only $20. And of course the bands will still be playing, usually of the lo-fi, indie or rock and roll persuasion, where they will play for a month. The VBC say they will be looking into bringing down Auckland bands, instead of just focussing on the Wellington talent pool. Before the VBC take over, at 8pm on Wednesdays, you can check out another staple of San Fran nights, the Acoustic Lounge. Also, pre- and post bands playing the VBC DJ's will be spinning all kinds of rock and roll that you would probably hear on their frequency, 88.3fm.                                         On Monday nights on the station, the Demo Show interview that weeks band and play their demo, between 4-7pm. And, like always, there is no cover charge. -Stacey
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    • Get your skates on
      • Wellington has long had an ambivalent attitude to alternative means of transport unloved in other cities - we still have trolley buses (long absent from Auckland or Christchurch), we have a cable car (NZ’s and one of the world’s few commuter vertical transporters), and the cops here seem to turn a blind eye to youths driving scooters, sidewinders or skateboards.
      • Tagged as:
      • transport

    • Discover Literary Wellington...
      • Writer David Geary once remarked that if you stay in Wellington long enough, you'll end up sleeping with yourself. I love that line. Wellington has been and is home to a long line of excellent writers: Katherine Mansfield, Bill Manhire, Duncan Sarkies, Jenny Bornholdt and Damien Wilkins spring to mind. I'm not the outdoorsy type at all. A city kid, I tend to come over all panicky if I get too far away from reassuring concrete. But I am bookish. And the Wellington Writers' Walk is a really lovely and fun stroll to take. With September being New Zealand Book Month, now is a perfectly appropriate time to re-discover literary Wellington.Along the route from Chaffers Marina to Frank Kitts Park, there are a series of sculptural plaques and benchmarks inscribed with quotations from New Zealand writers such as Mansfield, Manhire, Denis Glover, Robin Hyde and Bruce Mason. The featured writers have all lived in Wellington at some point, and the walk acknowledges and celebrates the significance Wellington has had in their lives. The concrete plaques (designed by typographer Catherine Griffiths) and benchmarks, three of which are seats (designed by architect Fiona Christeller) have been carefully positioned in delightfully surprising spots. I love the James K Baxter sculpture that juts out of the Te Papa pool, and how the Glover one sort of looks like it has just been washed up on the rocks at the edge of the waterfront. The monuments jump out at you, it's almost as if you're being accosted by them and it makes me imagine unsuspecting tourists walking along the waterfront and being confronted by lovely words set in stone.I love fonts and typography (and let's not forget concrete) and these concrete typographic 'text' sculptures are quite stunning, public artworks. I think Going West is Maurice Gee's best novel, so I reckon the plaque with the inscription from this book is my favourite: Then out of the tunnel andWellington burst like a bombIt opened like a flower waslit up like a room, explaineditself exactly, became thecapital... www.bookcouncil.org.nz/tourism/destinations/wellingtonwriterswalkmap.html - Kiran
      • Tagged as:
      • waterfront

    • Drawing out Wellington's creative mojo
      • This Saturday, you are all invited to an event that will have everyone stewing in their creative juices. It’s called Draw Wellington, and it’s designed to make everybody take notice of our city’s ‘built’ environment - by drawing attention to the way our buildings interact with their various surroundings.
      • Tagged as:
      • art
      • events

    • Civic Trust Award Winners
      • In the line of an old Abba song, The Winner takes it All, and so it was in the 2008 Wellington Civic Trust awards last night. A friendly Fish-monger sends in this report from the ceremony in Te Papa: The evening started off promptly, no time for drinkies (or Studio Pacific - who missed out on the news they had won the first prize of the evening by a good 5 minutes!), before leaping straight into the Awards ceremonies. First up was the award for best building in Wellington (constructed in the last 3 years).
      • Tagged as:
      • architecture

    • Stab 2008
      • BATS' annual STAB season is around the corner. STAB is about showcasing new and innovative theatre in ways that haven't been done before, it began in 1995 and since then, has featured pieces by Taika Cohen, Jemaine Clement and Jo Randerson. This year, BATS have two productions, Heat and Apollo 13, two very different plays, but both innovative in how the audience will be made to feel.
      • Tagged as:
      • events
      • theatre

    • Hawnay Troof
      • Hawnay Troof is the DIY gutter-rap/booty-bass/electro/punk/pop solo project of Vice Cooler from Oakland, California. An unstoppable one-man party, whose constant touring and hyperactive live shows have made him a party-starting legend in the underground, managing to steal show after show with his unifying performances. Playing with Peaches (her show sold out weeks ago) and doing a special one-off live set at Good Luck from midnight the night of the show.
      • Tagged as:
      • music

    • Weta reform and announce gig date
      • They’re back.  Wellington rockers Weta have reformed and are about to hit the San Fran Bath House for a massive gig on November the 21st. The local guitar heroes first blew up (In terms of fame) after their debut album, Geographica, was released in 2000.  The following year they blew up again, but this time it was the band being blown into pieces - with Weta front man, Aaron Tokona, thought to have stopped believing in what he was doing and calling an end to Weta as a group. But that was then and this is now.  I’ve seen the boys in action a few time, and let me just say that they have always played with a fire and passion most other musicians would kill for.  They’ve played support for acts such as the Foo Fighters and Soundgarden – not to mention Wellington’s favorite sons, Shihad, and have always matched the bigger names for their intensity. Make no mistake; this gig will be a SELL OUT.  Be in quick to get your tickets, lest you miss the return of an iconic Wellington band. It’s going to be huge. -Darren  
      • Tagged as:
      • gigs

    • Controversial Film Screening at the Film Archive on Saturday
      • This Saturday, the Film Archive presents a very rare and special free screening of The Seekers (1954), a film that provides a remarkable insight into the history of early representations of New Zealand and Maori in cinema. In 1954, some audience members walked out in disgust during screenings of Ken Annakin's film. An outrageously dated and inaccurate portrayal of early colonial engagement with Maori, the film sought to illustrate the first contact between Maori and Pakeha. Produced by a British studio, scenes were filmed on location around the Bay of Plenty and Rotorua (particularly in Otarawairere Bay, Tikitere, the Aratiatia Rapids and around the shores of Lake Rotoiti) but the film has an almost reckless disregard for continuity of geography - disparate locations are cut together without a concern for accuracy. The Seekers tells the story of English sailor Phillip Wayne (Jack Hawkins) who, on a visit to New Zealand in the early 1800s, is befriended by Maori chief Hongi Tepe (Inia Te Wiata). Returning with his wife to settle, Wayne is entranced by Tepe's beguiling wife, Moana (played by Javanese actress Laya Raki). Viewers often respond with either laughter or gasps of horror to scenes like Raki's outrageous "native" dance, and there's little concern for accurately presenting Maori language or culture. The Film Archive purchased a copy of the film from a British distributor eight years ago and this screening will be the first public showing since it was screened here 54 years ago. Saturday, 13 September - 7pmThe Film Archive84 Taranaki StreetFREEwww.filmarchive.org.nz- Kiran
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    • Two Pensions?
      • In the heart of Wellington’s old Chinatown, namely the narrow low-scale neighbourhood of Haining St, there is one of the few trees that are growing in Te Aro, nestling happily in the lee of an also fairly non-descript warehouse building. Until fairly recently the site was the home of a film unit, a student flat, and parking for assorted businesses, until it was sold and resold and eventually ended up in the hands of the property spruikers known as Rich Mastery: organizers of ‘property seminars’ - otherwise known as a way to “get rich quick”.
      • Tagged as:
      • architecture

    • Dust those dancing shoes off
      • Wellingtons annual Dance Your Socks Off! Festival is back in all it's foot tapping, pirouetting , break-dancing glory. The festival is all about celebrating the art of dance and movement, and getting more people involved in it.
      • Tagged as:
      • events
      • kilbirnie

        • Kilbirnie, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, New Zealand/Aotearoa (OpenStreetMap)


    • Electro Oh How We Love You
      • Some of us have missed out on Peaches tickets AND found ourselves too skint for Bill Bailey at the St James tonight. Le Sigh. Le Big Sigh. Fortunately solace can be found at Mighty Mighty tonight in the arms of some sweet, sweet electro. NZ based producers, DJs and live performance will be on hand to pound away that pain.
      • Tagged as:
      • events
      • music

    • Movember is back
      • Men: you've got two months of a clean face left. Movember is back with a new face. After parting ways with the Prostate Cancer Foundation earlier this year, the Movember Foundation will benefit the Cancer Society and the Mental Health Foundation's Out of the Blue Campaign this November. On November 1, you participating men, aptly named Mo Bros, will start with a clean shaven face, then grow the best moustache you can during the month. The point it to get friends, family, co-workers etc to pledge to give donations for your hairy efforts. Movember originated in Australia in 2004 to raise awareness and money for men's health issues. It was launched in New Zealand in 2006, and thanks to ex-patriate New Zealanders, it has gone global. It has recently been launched it in the United States, Canada, Britain, Ireland and Spain. CEO of the Movember Foundation, Adam Gurone decided to give money to the Cancer Society because he says they are under-funded and are doing good research into prostate cancer, and choose to support the Out of the Blue campaign as he says depression issues are more relevant to the young (30ish) supporters of Movember, and male depression does not get enough coverage. He hopes that by supporting this cause, men will become more open about talking about depression. The target this November would be to beat the $2.2 million raised and 28,000 moustaches grown last year, so savour the next few months of a clean face, and start collecting pledges asap to beat your other Mo Bros to it!   -Stacey
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