I know, I know, super-bad pun but the folks here at Wellingtonista seem to have really really high pun thresholds….

Anyway, this Saturday being part of a long weekend there are a lot of events competing for your attention out there in Wellington.  We have Craft 2.0 Fair at the Dowse as Sue has already posted, I will be working the kids table and it would definitely be my pick for tomorrow.  However maybe some of you can’t make it to the Hutt or want a few more options in central Welly.

A quick reminder about Beans, appearing on Sunday night at SFBH in Cuba St. (previous post here.)  Support is from fmr-Trinity Roots-man Riki Gooch’s Eru Dangerspiel outfit, and DJ Alphabethead!

Tickets are $25 and available from Slow Boat Records or Under The Radar… updates and more info from Galesburg.

Over at Eye of the Fish, Maximus has a good report of last night’s public meeting about what should be done about the Maranui surf club.

Money quote:

… all 4 scenarios went down like a cup of cold sick in a burnt out shed on a cold wind-swept beachfront. A member of the crowd put the feeling into words and started the ball that we should vote for a Fifth Scenario. An immediate show of hands confirmed overwhelming support for this proposal, which was, as another crowd member succinctly put it into words: “The 5th Scenario is that we just want Maranui rebuilt, so why are we debating all this other shit?”

The whole thing.

Voted by you the public as winner in the Smarten Your Snapper competition is Wave by Yana from Chromatophobic.

Yana wins a Snapper loaded with $100 and a free table at Craft2.0 this Saturday.

One of the great things about this cover is its see-through nature, especially useful with both red and green Snapper cards out in the wild.

Yana designed the cover and then using the Laser cutter at ponoko she whipped this nifty cover up using 0.3mm polypropylene – and you thought polypropylene was just for warm clothes!

Voting was extremly close so we awarded a prize to the runner-up Amy from Bad Animals and her Pirate Patch. Amy will receive a free table at Craft2.0 this saturday.

Think shopping, handmade, free treats, free making and outdoor knitting, plus cupcakes and craft – loads and loads and loads of craft – and you have Craft2.0.

It’s being held at theNewDowse this Saturday October 24th from 11am till 3pm.

It costs nothing to turn up and if you are one of the first 100 people through the door at 11am  you score a FREE goodie bag from Craftrunner chock full of treats, including goodies from felt.co.nz, Cafe Reka, Teza iced tea, Supervery, Emma Makes and more. Plus there is tons of to-die-for swag from the Craft2.0 raffle and so much more. 

Typically over 60 booths are present selling everything from glittering unicorn pins to hand printed t-shirts. If you are a fan of indie fashion, then you’ve found your DIY paradise. The best part is meeting the crafters behind the styles and seeing how some of their creations came to life.

What kinds of crafts will you find? Well, you won’t find any of that mass produced or imported stuff here, no siree! There’ll be surprises galore including reconstructed clothing, punk rock baby clothes for that little Sid or Nancy, handcrafted jewellery, whimsical and demented plush toys, hand-spun yarn, screen-printing, avant-garde art and much more.

Best of all, Craft2.0 is more than just shopping. Kids of all ages can design and create their own magical masks. Whether you’re a bird lover or are just looking for something exotic, feather masks are a great craft project. These beautiful creations work well as costume pieces or decorations. and it’s free. 

Tomorrow night at the St Catherine’s College Hall in Kilbirnie, the WCC is holding a public meeting to gauge community opinion on the fate of the Maranui Surf Lifesaving Club and the adjacent three waterfront buildings, and to discuss the options.

The Maranui club house is a listed heritage building, damaged by fire on 1 August. 

A call has been put out (see today’s Capital Times article) for Wellington’s creative types to come and show their support and with people being encouraged to come along in their speedos it’s going to be an entertaining night! 

Who says public meetings can’t be fun!? 

If you’re out of town, you can sign the online petition here to restore the building to its former glory. 

Among the opening exhibitions at the brand spanking new City Gallery is Regan Gentry’s installation Make Way. Along with much of Gentry’s work, it provokes questions about the contemporary city, and in this spirit the Gallery is hosting a panel discussion on "Humanising the City". It’s on Wednesday 4 November at 12.30pm (which is one of the Gallery’s popular free Wednesdays) in the Adam Auditorium.

I will chair the discussion, which will be around questions such as "How do planning and urban design in Wellington respond to human needs? What is the role of urban design in making our cities liveable, lively, and community-focused places? How do we create public space which balances environmental sustainability with infrastructure sensitive to the needs of its inhabitants?" The other participants are Associate Professor Penny Allan (Programme Director, Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Architecture & Design, Victoria University of Wellington), Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman (Director, NZ Centre for Sustainable Cities), Philip Belesky (Wellington freelance designer, Eye of the Fish blogger), and Mike Mellor (Vice President, Living Streets Aotearoa).

As Robyn has rightly pointed out, tonight is Pecha Kucha at Downstage at 7.30 (get there early if you are going).

Tonight is also the opening of Roger Morris’s new show "See Nothing".  Once again things are getting political, this time with a show based around "WHAT IF"? 9/11/2001.  Roger uses oil, print, graphite, monopoly boards, jigsaw pieces and repurposed generic landscapes to explore the theme.

Everything kicks off at 5.30 at Thistle Hall on Cuba Street.  Take a look at some of the works on the Facebook invite, if you are lucky you may be able to fit in Pecha Kucha afterwards.