Arts & Culture

In 1876, 150 years ago, our region’s first official library was built - The Old Stone Library. Queenstown Library is celebrating the huge milestone this month with a week of celebrations from 21 November, and a grand celebration on Saturday, 28, which will include a magic show, Harakeke weaving workshop, storytime and more.

Te Atamira’s ever-popular weekly Community Nights have hit the road and will now take place once a month in Wānaka.

Dick Hubbard has served as Mayor of Auckland, circumnavigated the world two up on a motorcycle up with his wife Diana and founded Hubbard Foods with social responsibility at its heart.

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) will stop by Queenstown this month, bringing a touch of spring with them, with the Serenade programme.

In 1986 Wellington poet Kate Camp kept a diary for a year, the year she turned 14. In that year, her parents divorced, she had sex for the first time and learned to use a microfiche.

Alternative-folk artist Reb Fountain will play at Yonder in October as part of her nation-wide tour. The tour is in support of her latest album, Water for Gasoline, which stays true to her genre-defining sound – smooth and captivating.

Te Atamira, Welcoming Communities and local iwi Kāi Tahu have teamed up to bring Te Waharoa ki Whakatipu | Gateway to the Whakatipu to our community.

At the World’s Edge Festival kicked will return on 3 October. It delivers an extensive programme of chamber music, spanning across Queenstown, Bannockburn, Wānaka and Cromwell.

Remarkable Theatre’s annual main show will open this Friday, reflecting on “the good old days,” questioning who they were actually good for. Home, I’m Darling will run until Saturday, 19 September and is the biggest show of the year for the group.

Queenstown Writers Festival is returning for another year and the programme launch is this weekend.

Rachel Rush is an artist working in bold colours with a funky street art style. She’s launching her exhibition, Paint the Town, at Queenstown’s Artbay Gallery where it will be on display until September, showcasing a collision of colour, energy, playfulness and the unexpected.

Faulty Towers The Dining Experience will take over QT in November, bringing the much-loved sitcom to life.

Eric Lim is the Art Facilitator at Te Atamira, bringing local artists, musicians, and creatives into the space to share their skills and connect with the community.

Book Club at Queenstown Library is Adult Services Librarian Lili Owen’s favourite programme, hands down.

The young talent of our region was on display at Wakatipu High School last week as students took on HADESTOWN Teen Edition.

The premise for DJ Hot Dub Time Machine is pretty simple; play hits across the decades, starting in the 50s and coming all the way through to present day.

Inspired by the spirit of downtown cabaret shows in New York, Paris, and Berlin, the Tiny Room Concert Series combines music and comedic narratives to delight and entertain.

Psychedelic world music, that’s how frontman of Carnivorous Plant Society Finn Scholes describes the trio’s sound. Heading to Queenstown next week, they’ll be bringing their signature sounds to Sherwood, on tour with Arts on Tour NZ.

A much-loved fixture on the lakefront is Queenstown Market. Stalls are full of goodies – hand crafted and made with love – it’s a vibrant celebration of creativity where visual and performing arts come alive for locals and visitors alike.

Lisa Walker’s stitched, padded, beaded and intuitively assembled (not quite) heads will be on display at Te Atamira until April. The works by one of Aotearoa’s most influential contemporary jewellers, begin life in the recognisable shape of the human head before shifting into something familiar, but uniquely unsettled.