If you are working near Willis Street today you could use your lunch hour to sample two very different exhibitions.
The Japanese Embassy on Level 18 and 19 of the Magestic Centre on 100 Willis Street is always worth a visit to give you that thrill of surveying the city from the floor to ceiling glass windows of a shiny tall building.
Today is the last day of the a photography exhibition at the Japanese embassy, Gazing at the Contemporary World: Japanese Photography from the 1970s to the Present.
Crossing the road you can visit a sound installation that has been set up in vacant commercial space at 141 Willis Street. Popular Archeology: A Sound Archive is one part of larger project called Letting Space that is looking pretty exciting.
Popular Archeology is focused on redundant technology and is constructed with a variety of tape decks playing tape loops of disintegrating fragments of New Zealand singles that made the top 10 between 1967 and 1994 in a wall of sound comprising over 30 tape players. You have until 9 May to catch this show but it would make a nice juxtaposition with the show across the road for today only.
Anyone remember this guy? The self-same enterprising young man has been seen with an assortment of HI-VIZ clad worker types, some waiters and a guitar stumming up interest in an event rather shockingly entitled: "the Wellington Charity SLAVE AUCTION". Don’t worry folks, it is all above board and for a damn good cause. Tomorrow at Queens Wharf Square businesses will be donating services (and products) that will be auctioned off to benefit the Skylight Trust.
A sample of the services on offer:
A sample of the products on offer (start from $5):
Entertainment will be provided by Sasha Vee so if you feel like opening your wallet for a good cause get on down from 11.00am until 1.30pm.
Check out the full list of what is on offer here.
Shinobi Sushi Lounge is having two special kaiseki nights Monday and Tuesday this week. Tuesday is fully booked and Monday has less than ten places left so if a bloody amazing 3 course feast featuring 18 dishes using only fresh local ingredients appeals BOOK NOW.
We sampled a few of the bluff oysters that will be on the menu and saw the master handmaking ramen for the occassion. It is going to be an event in my mouth I am sure of it.
Oishii so desu.
What: Kaiseki (multi-course dinner)
Where: Shinobi Sushi Lounge
When: Monday 12 April (tomorrow)
Cost: $80
For more pictures from last year’s kaiseki head over to James Ogle Photography.
…well the stage itself will be lit up like a Christmas tree but the bar and exteriors will be lit by candles for Earth Hour.
Saturday is the closing night for Pick of the Fringe at Downstage, if the whirl of Fringe and the New Zealand International Arts Festival has passed you by this year you can still catch two outstanding shows at Downstage.
Theatre is an experience to be shared and both shows on offer are really accessible as well as being ‘Fringe’, so you could take you sister or your boyfriend or your work colleague. You can see both shows for $40 which is very reasonable.
back/words is a piece of documentary theatre with performances that focus on being completely faithful to the source of the story. The source being in this case, filmed interviews with people that have been loosely framed around important ‘firsts’. Out of hours and hours of footage they have shaped a theatre length show full of humor and emotion.
This Sunday 28 March there is an international celebration of the beautiful game going on at Martin Luckie Park, Berhampore 9am – 5pm.
Culture Kicks is a multi ethnic football festival with five-a-side teams from Wellington representing countries from around the world battling it out on the pitch for a chance to take home the 2010 trophy.
There will be Columbian dancers, African drumming, music from Matiu Te Huki and Lion dancers from the Chinese Sports and Cultural Centre.
The day kicks off with Bella Kalolo singing the New Zealand National anthem (the woman has some pipes!) and prize giving will be at 3.45pm.
With around 40 teams representing over 20 countries you don’t have to pick just one team to support. A few team names to give you the flavour of the day: Havana Hustlers, Tartan Army, Unity Arabs, Somali Eagles, Los Decadentes, Korean White Angels, West African Kiwis.
There will be healthy foodstuffs on offer from the Hari Krishnas, so all you need are your chants and some sunblock (well let’s face it, you should probably bring a raincoat too, this is Wellington after all).
Anyone who has been down to the waterfront this week would have seen a large rusty barge parked in the lagoon and a bunch of scaffolding and marquees going up. You may well be wondering, "what the hell is all of this in aid of?"
Well gentle reader, today for one day only, the area around the lagoon and Frank Kitts Park is being transformed into a slice of Asia (well about 10 or so slices of Asia) for the Southeast Asian Night Market. The market opens with a cannon blast at 4pm and finishes up at 10pm.
This is only the second time the market has been held in Welly, and the big difference is this time they are cooking with gas, outside, live and direct. Last time it was held in the TSB arena and lines snaked across Queens Wharf for hours so prepare yourself for Cuba Carnival style crush. Get in amonst the sights, sounds, smells and not forgetting for a second, the FLAVOURS of a real deal night market. Yes, I did just use caps. I know that is bad manners but I have seen the menus on offer and I have to say both "whaaa?" and "nom" in equal measure, which is exactly as it should be.
Programme details and highlights after the jump:
Pasifika was cancelled this morning due to high winds making it unsafe for perfomers and stall holders. Safety first eh.
So no Cindy of Samoa or Yandall Sisters and tasty food for us.
Well actually, I think you will find that if you head to a certain Pasific Island Community Church in Newtown you will find the food and the odd act has relocated (rumor has it that the Yandall Sisters are keen to belt out a few tunes).
A group of stall holders from the Cook Islands have flown over especially so if anyone knows of somewhere they can sell their wares tomorrow let us know in the comments. They would really appreciate it.
The Unicon XV has been in town since the 28th of December, with one wheelers decorating the waterfront and what feels like the whole damn inner-city, saving us from that ghost town feel over the holiday period. The Wellington flickr pool and the papers have been packed with photos of the action. There is something pretty photogenic about the sheer range of unicycle enthusiasts of all nationalities that have decended on our fair (but windy) city.
Today is your last chance to check out the action, the Best Trick Contest will be held outside Mac’s Brewery Bar at 2.00pm weather permitting.
See you down there.
Sydney Festival : Kora @ Becks Bar, Hyde Park Barracks Museum – 19th January, 2008 (Photo © 2008, Joel Courtney)
Bloody hell this is going to be intense! One show only this Friday.
Last time I saw Kora play I was in field at Parihaka and the earth moved, in fact the earth possibly got packed down too hard to grow grass for awhile, due to hundreds of people jumping and writhing in unison. Way to freak the sheep man.