June #02
The fog’s really settled in now, but don’t let that stop you. This month we have Fieldays (obviously), the French Film Festival, Zine Fest and its afterparty; and dammit, Janet, if local darling The Rocky Horror Picture Show isn’t turning 50.
And if you’re new here: welcome! If you missed our last newsletter, the archive can be found here.
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Scuttlebutt
What do we all make of the Waikato Times paywall? It possibly makes this newsletter a little less clickable.
Meanwhile journalist extraordinaire Kirsty Johnson (we’re excited to see what she does next for RNZ) tweets on the mating dance of the Waikato:
Te Huia numbers are now in full flight, as the service celebrates its 100,000th passenger. The Waikato Times asks: is Hamilton poised to eclipse Wellington and become Aotearoa’s fourth largest city? Maybe. It’s complicated.
Who can we blame for the perplexing decision to redo Pembroke street… so that it remains precisely the same as it always has been with no cycle lane? Baffling. Meanwhile, further downstream, the Glenview bus is not up to spec for people who mobilise with a wheelchair - but they’re fixing it.
Buy a seat at the new Waikato regional theatre, which hopes to be debt free at opening in 2024. Katiee_owennn on TikTok reviews Hamilton op shops (among other things). Because I asked nicely, Hamilton City Councillor Louise Hutt (whose also recently penned a piece for Ensemble on the politics of her work wardrobe) shared her knit pattern library with us.
What’s on
Film
The French film festival kicks off this month at the Lido with a gala opening night (tickets $35). Highlights include:
The Origin of Evil: a woman’s reunion with her estranged father is interrupted by a power struggle for the family’s immense wealth, in a tangled thriller that has garnered comparisons to Succession.
Notre-Dame on Fire is a gripping boots-on-the-ground portrayal of firefighters trying to save Notre Dame cathedral during the 2019 fire.
And otherwise, it’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s 50th birthday this month (which I’m sure we won’t be allowed to forget). The Operatic Society have got this: June 29 they’re hosting a special screening at the Lido, complete with pre-match function, complimentary curated prop bag for audience participation, an award for best dressed and, naturally, a photobooth (because pics or it didn’t happen). All for exactly $34.05.
Theatre
By Louise Drummond
Horis In Space, presented by TAHI T'AI TASI. Meteor Theatre, 28th - 30th June at 7pm. Horis in Space is about finding meaning beyond the stars and finding your place among your whānau and friends. It’s the year 3023 on the planet Aotearoa, and avid classic video game enthusiast Kauri Roads meets an alien named Allen. Written by local Hamiltonian Michael Kerei (Tainui) and directed by award-winning playwright Benny Marama.
The Big Night Out; Meteor Theatre, 9th June at 7.30pm. A mid-year celebration from the talented students of the Wintec Te Pūkenga Music and Performing Arts degree. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to catch some of the brightest up-and-coming stars in the Kirkiriroa performing arts scene, in this one-night only event.
Downtown Musicals Jr, by the Hamilton Operatic Society. Meteor Theatre, 11th June at 4pm. The ‘Downtown Musicals’ Jr. sessions aim to provide a platform for rising theatre performers, aged 9 to 17, to help them gain experience and confidence singing in front of audiences. The Jr. sessions are wheelchair accessible and family friendly.
Music
By Adam Fulton
Synthetic Children, GTKB release tour. Last Place, 1st June. Synthetic Children is a solo act, performing eclectic electro/jungle/house, while GTKB are an instrumental “emo shoegazy rock” four-piece, with at least a one-member overlap with First Move. Both acts are from Te Papaioea.
Nervous Jerk album release tour. Last Place, 3rd June. Posi pop-punk from Ōtautahi. Supported by Melanie (noodly guitar stuff) and Static.
Zinefest Afterparty. Last Place, 10th June. Featuring Half/time, Static, Essa Ranapiri, and our pick-of-the-bunch P Wits – a mix of American primitivist guitar stuff and ambient drone.
Miscellaneous things
Cycling in Kirikiriroa in winter means fog and wet roads, so bring your analogue bike along to the Bike Hub for a tune up, in the Go Eco car park, Frankton, from 10am-12pm every Thursday to Saturday. Bring your kids and gumboots to Arbor Day (June 3) at Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park for their busiest planting day of the year. That evening, head indoors for comedian Guy Montgomery (Worst Idea of All Time podcast, Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee), who is doing a set at the Meteor June 3, for $30 - which seems far too cheap these days. And you’ve done the Hakarimata steps on a Saturday morning, but have you tried it after dark where you can see glowworms?
Fieldays
One word, and only one d - for those that have moved to town since we last had a real Fieldays, pre-covid. If you didn’t quite realise, Fieldays was this month (14 - 17 June 2023), you’ll know all about it by the time it starts. You can catch regional buses free of charge form Raglan, Cambridge, Te Awamutu, Paeroa, Te Aroha, Morrinsville, Huntly, Taumarunui, Te Kuiti and Tokoroa to the Hamilton Transport centre, and hop on the free bus to the event itself. Or, you know, use the helipad or arrive by boat from Tamahere like a totally normal person. Other highlights, even for townies, include the tractor pull and excavator competitions (plus there’s a lil’ mini digger kids can have a go on). And of course it’s also really a food festival in disguise.
And guess what the modular unit of the Fieldays exhibitions is? That’s right, they are precincts.
Eating and drinking
Our sources tell us the Made Market has been delayed and we are now taking August at the earliest.
We speak from recent experience when we say oysters, fries and whatever you’re drinking at Earnest is a great way to start your evening out.
For an evening in, we made a huge pot of mussels recently, which remain cheap – from Seafood Bazaar in Te Rapa. They also deliver Tuesday through Saturday.
Wonderhorse’s Whisky club meets this month on June 21. You can email your inquiry to alex@wonderhorse.co.nz
Contributors: Sylvia Giles, Jason Marshall, Louise Drummond (theatre), Adam Fulton (music)
