The new Phoenix Foundation video, directed and starring Academy Award®-nominated director Taika Waititi is a wee gem, following our energetic protagonist in a one-shot piece of filming that takes him around the western coastline of Lyall Bay.

So you can’t sleep right?  If the Fringe festival has left you all over stimulated and you are in need of night time novelty may I suggest that you head to the Watsui tonight for the start of a frenetic 24 hour art gumball rally around Wellington.  Welsh artist Bedwyr Williams is going to give us his spin on the ONE DAY SCULPTURE series by taking a used station wagon around 24 locations in 24 hours, aiming to stack up 24 works on the roof rack by  midnight tomorrow.

Planned itinerary after the jump

Downstage opens its doors for the first time this summer with three new shows opening in less than a week!

This time last year Tim Spite’s SEEyD Company thrilled audiences with the paua poaching action adventure Paua (netting Spite the Chapman Tripp Director of the Year Award in the process). Now they’re back with a re-working of earlier success Turbine, which blew people away at BATS in 2006: An environmentally conscious family have their principles tested when a power company wants to build a wind farm in their ‘back yard’.

Turbine opens officially on Friday but early birds (or the price sensitive) can see previews on Wednesday or Thursday night for only $20.

Percussion-monsters Strike are back for one night only on Sunday, playing favourites and showcasing tracks from their forthcoming CD. Guests Lisa Tomlins (The Eggs) and Mana (Rhombus) collaborate and DJ Samu adds breaks. Strike Soundsystem is on Sunday at 8.00pm.

Can’t wait till Craft2.0 in april to get your shopping groove on?

Well no worries, becuase for those of you in Wellington this is a weekend of crafty awesomness…

First up on Waitangi Day itself, why not head out to Pataka and celebrate Waitangi Day and the Festival of the Elements with a spot of crafty shopping.

The Festival of the Elements is  being held at Te Rauparaha Park & Te Rauparaha Arena. The day starts with an  opening ceremony at 11am, with a wide range of arts and entertainment programmes continuing through until 7pm.

The festival uses the arts to celebrate the cultural diversity of Porirua, made possible by the Treaty of Waitangi.  The elements of Earth and Air, Fire and Water embrace concepts of significance to all cultures, concepts around which we can all unite.  Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti rejoice together on Waitangi Day by way of the arts.

Pataka is once again hosting a wide and wonderful range of quality crafts including jewellery, babywear, clothes, beads, lamps, cushions and much much more! You’ll be guaranteed to find something funky, cool, stylish that is made with ‘crafty’ loving care. Everything at Crafting is crafted in NZ and it’s a great chance to meet the person who created whatever you buy.

On Saturday head over the hill to Martinborough where the annual fair is being held. While some of Martinborough Fair is very much focused on imported stuff that might be cheap and break in a month, you’ll also find some really lovely and original handmade creations, many from lovely Craft2.0 crafters.

So have a fun weekend of crafts.

Newtown DIY darlings, zinesters and the tiniest music venue in town, Spacething, have launched their website. The site has photos, an events calendar, DIY and zine-y links and details of their retail, publishing and music distro business arms and of course the lending library. And pandas. And a free tetris game!

In a nice local segue, the picture to your right is taken at a Knife Fight single release held in Spacething’s teeny back room – with dancers in the alleyway – and the other item I have to bring to your attention is the Stabs playing at the Adelaide tonight. The Adelaide is, of course, across the road from Spacething; and tonight’s local support is none other than Knife Fight, playing their second-to-last show before they leave town. The Stabs recently played Australia’s inaugural All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP) festivals, at the invitation of curators Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The Melbournite Stabs have brought their cityside pals The Twerps with them to play tonight’s gig too – and some of you might recognise a Twerp as one of our own ex-pats, formerly a Batrider. Small world. 

Spacething: 171 Adelaide Rd, Newtown : spacething.co.nz

The Stabs, The Twerps and Knife Fight: 9pm Thursday 5th at the Adelaide, 114 Adelaide Rd, Newtown

You don’t have to be a trainspotter or J-line commuter to be interested in the redevelopment of the Johnsonville Line (though it undoubtedly helps). In any case, you shouldn’t miss your one and only opportunity tomorrow to walk the tracks between Crofton Downs station and the Wadestown crossing loop. Highlights include spectacular views of the gorge and a couple of spooky tunnels to explore.

For a sneak peek, here’s a video of the journey, complete with alarming squeaks and rattles and running commentary by an overexcited toddler, taken just before renovations began in earnest.

Clips of the rest of the trip are viewable over on YouTube, and you might also be interested in some photos of progress posted over at SkyscraperCity.