Remembering Dr Seddon Bennington
Quite apart from the work he did at Te Papa, Dr Seddon Bennington was someone who will be remembered by many Wellingtonians, both personally and professionally. I met him a couple of times through the Civic Trust, and was always impressed with his charm and intelligence.
His funeral will be at Rongomaraeroa (Te Papa’s marae) on Wednesday afternoon and his casket will be brought onto the marae on Tuesday 21st July at 4pm. Those wishing to pay their respects will be able to do so until 10pm that night. Dr Bennington will remain on the marae overnight until the conclusion of the funeral service on Wednesday, and there is also a memorial book to sign on Level 2 of Te Papa.
PUDDLE PUDDLE PUDDLE
The loveliness of one of New Zealand’s best-ever pop bands The Puddle is manifesting at Happy on Saturday night.
They’ve even got a video for a single off one of their new albums:
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q3hhurq5Fo]Support from Marineville. Happy downstairs cnr Vivan and Tory streets.
Stockhausen! (reminder)
Just a quick reminder: Stockhausen’s Mantra! Sunday, 6 pm, Hunter Council Chamber, VUW Wellington.
There will also be a pre-concert talk by Robin Maconie at 5 pm in the Hunter Lecture Theatre. Tickets: $5/$10/free for students.
More here.
fabric, fabric , everywhere
After a brilliant launch in April, Fabr ic-a-brac is back!
Here’s your chance to pick up fabulous vintage, unusual and modern fabric, buttons & patterns. Fabric-a-brac promises a huge range of fabric styles – from offcuts of upholstery fabric, to style-y leather and tons of vintage
So head over to Brooklyn Community Centre this Saturday from 12 noon till 3pm. We reccomend getting there bang on noon as we know from last time the early bird does score the best fabric haul.
Fabric-a-brac also features a stall raising money for Mary Potter Hospice. Anyone can donate for the table just pop along to any of the places listed on the website.
Now parking is pretty tight so consider catching the bus and since you are up that way drop into the penthouse and catch some film festival screenings.
When: 12noon – 3pm, Saturday 18 July
Where: Brooklyn Community Centre, 18 Harrison St, Brooklyn
More info head over to the Fabric-a-brac website.
Cinephilia: Film Festival Preview
The Wellington Film Festival (sorry, New Zealand International Film Festival, Wellington Branch) is a huge undertaking for the committed cinema-goer. Every year we devour the programme for weeks in advance, scheduling annual leave and long “lunch breaks”, trying to work out what is essential and what isn’t. After 20 years of this, I’ve only just begun to realise that in the search for the essential many other pleasures have been passing me by. This year, before I even looked at the programme, I asked the Festival to choose a stack of DVDs for me, with the emphasis on the unheralded and the unexpected. Thus, of the 13 films I’ve been watching over the last three or so weeks, all but one of them were from the back half of the book (and probably would not have been on my personal shortlist) but all of them had something special to offer. So, is my advice for the Festival to not book in advance but instead choose films at random depending on your own availability and proximity to a venue? Maybe it is.
[Read the rest of the Wellingtonista Film Festival Preview after the jump]
Never mind the bad puns, here’s Pollux
One of the worst-kept secrets in Wellington bar-land is about to be revealed: new wine bar Pollux will open next week, in what was once the State Opera House espresso bar in Manners St.
Now, as a modestly-educated fly I knew that Pollux was a god and a star, which made me wonder what made it a good name for a wine bar. But apparently "Pollux" comes from polydeukeis, Greek for "much sweet wine", so that astrologers associate the star Pollux with prosperity and celebration with wine. I’m not one for astrology myself, but I’ll drink to that!
Real Hot Bitches – record breakers
Who knew (this particular Wellingtonista didn’t) that our fair city’s top ’80s cheese-rock dance troupe’ – the Real Hot Bitches – had set the world record for most people in a synchronised dance? In Christchurch, of all places. Here’s the evidence, in all its legwarmed, spandexed glory…
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8izqfvSXQs]
[Hat-tip: From the Morgue]
Downstage in High Definition
Just before my Wellingtonista privileges are removed due to, erm, non-compliance with acceptable posting chronometry (or something) here’s an update on everyone’s favourite professional theatre, Downstage.
Last week they launched their new Season brochure, "Life in High Definition", which lists all the shows between now and Christmas. Highlights are many, but include new plays by Jo Randerson (Good Night – The End) and Stuart McKenzie (Biography of My Skin, starring his wife Miranda Harcourt), Collapsing Creation (by the team that brought you On the Conditions and Possibilities of Helen Clark Taking Me as her Young Lover last year) and the return of beloved circus-theatre show Adagio with extra, added, Christmassy bits.
Also on the menu between now and November is Soundstage, Downstage’s new venture into the world of popular music: Once a month Sunday evening shows featuring favourite local bands in a relaxed, theatrical setting, the first act is The Woolshed Sessions on Sunday night shortly followed by Little Bushman on 2 August. The Woolsheds are so popular that the Sunday evening show has almost sold out and an extra 3pm matinee has just been added. Seats are limited and going fast.
Tonight the "Life in High Definition" season gets under way with the return of two of Downstage’s best friends: Strike Percussion always raise the roof with their high energy, high precision performance. This time they are joined by the virtuoso Australian improvisor Adam Page who wowed Wellington audiences with his solo show during the Fringe. They have been collaborating on new work, combining Strike’s hitting things with Adam’s blowing into things and the results are explosive.
Adam will also be doing his usual multi-instrumental improvisations (with Strike support) so no two shows will be the same.
You can download a pdf of the "Life in High Definition" brochure here, or contact theatre@downstage.co.nz and ask for a paper one to be sent out to you. Interestingly 90% of Woolshed bookings have been over the web at www.downstage.co.nz which is pretty remarkable. Also, today, Downstage have launched TradeMe Tuesday – a chance to get Downstage tickets for as low as $1 reserve. It’s a bit like Grabaseat – check in to the TradeMe Downstage Store every Tuesday for more specials.
Petone Winter Carnival
Celebrate winter with a bang! The second annual Petone Winter Carnival is a major one-day festival celebrating the very best of winter on the iconic Petone foreshore.
The carnival will feature an eclectic programme of free live music, visual arts, daring circus acts, fun-filled family activities and the spectacular finale – the annual Pelorus Trust Fireshow – along the Petone foreshore Saturday the 18th of July from 2pm to 7:30pm. What better way to cap off an exciting day of Carnival activities than witnessing Petone’s very own fireworks show from the beach.
We recommend grabbing a bite to eat, before or after the show. Local restaurants and cafes are going to be open early for the event. How about trying the new Malaysian restaurant, the Palms or Wellingtonista favourite, Gusto.
Waku waku desu
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This Saturday is the main event for Wellington’s Japan Festival which kicked off 6 July with the Friend to Friend exhibition in the Fletcher Challenge Foyer. The organisers Asia New Zealand Foundation, Wellington City Council and the Embassy of Japan (along with the sponsors of course) are always bringing us beautiful free cultural events.
Thanks for that.
Our recent guest poster was rightly excited about Music Fair of Japan that is part of the Japan Festival, unfortunately both concerts are fully booked. Zannen desu ne! However don’t despair, there is plenty of Japanese culture to partake of:
- Food and Craft market runs from 1.00pm until 8.00pm
- Cultural Show from 1.30pm until 7.00pm
- Friend to Friend Public Speaking Contest from 2.30pm until 4.00pm (for all of you out there that think that they might sit their proficiency test ‘one day’)
- Tea Ceremony from 3.00pm until 4.00pm
More details can be found on the asia:nz website (now with RSS for their event calendar).
If you don’t make it along, don’t forget that the Japanese Embassy runs free movie nights on the last Tuesday and Thursday of every month at 6.00pm. They often sponsor other free events that usually book out fast. You can find details on their website here.
Tanoshi so desu!