TAWA5 Best Event
There’s always something to do in this town we love, but these are the pick of the crop, and are circled in red on our calendars. We’re counting the sleeps until next year’s events!
Hey, you wanna eat at some of Wellington’s best restaurants for only $25 for two courses AND a glass of wine? You want to dress up in Steampunk outfits to hang out with people at Weta? Or you want to eat a burger at every restaurant in town? Boy howdy, do we have the event for you! In its second year, Wellington on a Plate spread itself around 80 different venues, had stacks of one-off eating events and filled our tummies in style. We’re already letting out our pants in anticipation of next year’s event.
It’s now a must-attend event for anyone working on or with the web in New Zealand (and beyond). The Webstock crew are passionate about finding the very best speakers from NZ and around the world and bringing them to Wellington each year to share everything they know. The event is so well-managed that past speakers have been known to attempt to bribe organisers in hopes of returning to this marvelous event. For a week in February, the city is flooded with extremely talented good-looking weblebrities, and it reminds us why we love what we do.
Some people go to WOW for the range of visually stunning wearable art creations, others go to be thrilled by the amazing stagecraft in the show. Either way, WOW is a key event on Wellington’s creative calendar. It’s not just for the 40,000 people who get tickets to the show at TSB Arena either – exhibitions of previous winners make the art more accessible to all of Wellington. With more international entrants widening the creative pool, WOW is guaranteed to be better every year.
A celebration of the diversity and quality of brewing in NZ – and the array of people who are into it. Beervana is in its ninth year now and offers guidance in the way of the brew with Beer Enlightenment Seminars and food and beer matching provided by last year’s Wellingtonian of the Year Martin Bosley.
2010 New Zealand International Film Festival
Yes we are a town of making films, but we are also a town of going to the films, and the film festival every year packs in the audiences.
This year the festival opened with the World premiere of Predicament by Wellington filmmaker Jason Stutter. In the middle of winter for 2 weeks half the city stops normal life to try and fit in a few films, for some it’s about squeezing in a lunchtime screening or 2, or taking a long lunch hour. For others it’s all about 3 or 4 films a day during the weekend and then there are the devoted festival fans who are known to take annual leave so they can spend their holidays at the movies.
The festival also has great flow on effects as cinemas pick up films that have become available for release in New Zealand as a result of their popularity during the festival.
Dammit, why can’t I vote for all of them?