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A white Mazda has pulled up at lights on Hamilton’s Victoria St, and Abba’s Dancing Queen is blaring. There’s a young man driving and a group of young women swaying to the music and waving drinks on their way to town for Friday night. It’s O Week, the Chiefs have just beaten the Crusaders at FMG Stadium Waikato, and Hamilton student bar The Outback Inn is hosting a beerfest. One guess where the party girls are heading.

If it’s the Outback they’ll be in a line of succession stretching back 30 years, after the Outback opened for its first O Week in 1995.

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There were a few beaming faces and one big beam that was the centre of attention at the Waikato Regional Theatre on Wednesday.

The beam in question was a 600kg steel strut that was lifted into place atop the theatre’s flying tower, shortly after midday - but not before it was decorated with about 30 signatures of those who have had central roles in the project.

There were also speeches by Foster Construction project manager Ben Royfee and Waikato Regional Property Trust chairman Ross Hargood and a sausage sizzle for the workers.

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Music floated through the air, mixing with the gentle hum of laptops and casual conversations.

Some people tapped away at emails under the shade of umbrellas, while others took in a massage, stretched out with breathwork exercises, or soaked up the scorching sun with a coffee in hand.

Instead of rigid schedules and deadlines, attendees were free to take the day at their own pace.

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Resonate Health, New Zealand’s newest and most transparent hearing healthcare company, redefining healthy ageing with a holistic approach that goes far beyond traditional hearing aids.  Visit Angitha Nair/Aimee Kipara at the Resonate Health-Hamilton Central studio to learn more about your hearing health and Resonate Unlimited, New Zealand’s only hearing aid subscription service available for $90 per month.

Resonate is changing the game for New Zealanders looking for hearing health solutions.

How healthy are your ears, really? Ear360 by Resonate is an advanced hearing health map, analysing 10 points of hearing health, and their impact on you.

Call 0800737662 or bookonline to drop by for a cozy cup of coffee and some wonderful conversation.

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The newly restored neoclassical façade of the 102-year-old Hamilton Hotel building - now the frontage of the Waikato Regional Theatre - has been unveiled with the removal of the first section of a scaffolding shelter surrounding the building.

The long-awaited appearance of the pristine plaster of the old hotel frontage is another visible milestone in the ongoing construction of the 1300-seat theatre that promises to revolutionise entertainment in the city.

Hamilton's Rocket Coffee Roasters has been listed in the top 100 coffee shops around the world, ranking at 62nd on the list.

The Hamilton coffee shop is the only one in New Zealand to make the prestigious list.

The store has been around for 30 years and has been a key player in New Zealand's coffee culture through its crafted beverages, friendly atmosphere and strong community ties.

The list is complied by a panel of coffee experts, enthusiasts and industry leaders who rank a variety of factors including dedication to experience, bean sourcing and roasting.

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Wooden Spoon, 169 London St, Hamilton

It was a seven-year-old coeliac’s dream to open a cafe where she could eat everything.

Less than two decades later, Hannah Alley opened a 100% gluten-free cafe - Wooden Spoon, in Hamilton. Possibly the first of it’s kind in the Tron.

And since opening in November 2023, it has attracted coeliacs from across the country.

Why? Because it is a pretty big deal getting a full gluten-free menu, says Alley.

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A partnership between FMG Stadium Waikato and the One New Zealand Warriors has opened the way for the club to play three stand-alone NRLW matches in Hamilton this season.

The deal follows another landmark rugby league+ occasion at the stadium on Saturday when a crowd 23,344 – a record for a Warriors trial match – attended the club’s final Preseason Challenge clash against the Melbourne Storm.

In their return to the competition after a five-year absence the Warriors will make FMG Stadium Waikato their base for the last three of their five regular season home games.

The first is their round seven fixture against the Canberra Raiders on Saturday, August 16 followed a week later by their eighth-round contest against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on Sunday, August 24, and the round 10 encounter with the powerful Brisbane Broncos on Sunday, September 7.

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Come and enjoy art, culture, sport or a ‘weird’ mix of all three! Here are some Love the Centre highlight events.

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‍Circus in the Centre

‍Garden Place, until April 5, noon-2.30pm

Turn your summer afternoons into a circus extravaganza! Garden Place green space transforms into a lively circus zone where kids and whānau can explore juggling, hula hooping, spinning plates, and more. All equipment is provided, so just bring your enthusiasm and get ready for some free, family-friendly fun.

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Live Music

Garden Place, until March 28, 12.30-1.30pm

Enjoy an electrifying mix of DJs, singers, and saxophonists bringing vibrant tunes to the heart of the city.

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Stories in the Garden

Garden Place, until March 29, 10am-11am

Join us under the trees for a magical hour of storytelling and games with characters from Enchanted Entertainment. Dress up in the story theme and spend a delightful hour under the trees taking your mind to a faraway land.

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Chinese Lantern Festival

Garden Place, February 22, 6pm-9pm

Experience the magic of the Chinese Lantern Festival in the Year of the Snake with a Dragon & Lion Dance, a mesmerising magic show, live cultural performances, and delicious food stalls. The festivities start at 6pm but come early to enjoy the food from 4pm.

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Children’s Day

Garden Place and beyond, March 1-2, 10am-3pm

Let’s come together to celebrate our children and whānau. This event is packed with activities and fun for the whole family with entertainment across the central city public spaces.

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Festival of Weird

Garden Place, March 5-12 10am-5pm

Embrace the wacky and weird at the Festival of Weird. This week-long celebration is more cringe than fringe, with a lineup of bizarre and entertaining activities that will leave you laughing and amazed.

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Boon Street Art Festival

Central City, March 13-16

Watch the city come alive with stunning murals and cultural events during the Boon Street Art Festival. Enjoy four days of art, culture, and community with an incredible artist lineup and an interactive community mural.

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Love the Centre Walk Thru Balloon

Garden Place, March 15, 1pm-4pm & March 20, 4pm-7pm

Experience the thrill of walking inside a real hot air balloon. For a koha, you can enjoy this unique adventure along with fun, music, and entertainment to kick off the Balloons Over Waikato event week.

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Inside the Waikato Regional Theatre

The Waikato’s new regional theatre is about to become a theatre of mystery - or, to describe it a little more eloquently, a masterpiece mystery theatre.

The Waikato Times was this week granted a tour of the building’s interior - a guided visit that provides more than a few hints of the sheer magnitude of splendour the Waikato Regional Theatre - due to open later this year - will provide the people of Kirikiriroa.

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CBD retailers have endured tough economic times but a senior business leader is seeing more optimistic signals, while shop owners have mixed views about 2025.

Concerns include the impact on shopper numbers of having just one hour free parking in the CBD, introduced last year. Customers have reported being resistant to paying for more time.

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Hamilton Central Business Association general manager Vanessa Williams said on Wednesday that she’d been chatting to about half a dozen retailers this year about how things were going over January.

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Jeremy Mayall almost got a proper job once. Fresh out of school, he figured doing law at university would be the way to go.

The application included writing a page about why he wanted to be a lawyer.

As easy as that sounds - hey, just lie if you have to - he couldn’t do it. A fateful decision was made, he changed to a BA, majoring in music, screen studies and theatre.

These days the flamboyantly bearded Mayall is chief executive of Creative Waikato, a musician and composer, and a consummate proponent for the arts.

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Dumplings are one of the most common dishes ordered from a Chinese restaurant on any given day.

They’re not hard to make from scratch, as anyone from northern China will tell you. Growing up, dumpling making was the ultimate family activity - there’s no such thing as “too many cooks in the kitchen”.

With Lunar New Year approaching, why not give this dish a go? Trust me, as someone who is a terrible cook, it’s not as hard as it looks.

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You are invited to the Vetro Spring Festival!

The festival will be held on Rostrevor Street in and around Vetro Mediterranean!

Join us for a few hours of entertainment, delicious food,instore tastings at Vetro and go in the draw to win a Weber BBQ.

Brought to you by Vetro Mediterranean
Supported by Love the Centre & Connect Hamilton

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Every year in August, Hamilton Book Month celebrates New Zealand authors and their writing, with events covering different genres and age groups. Readers from the Waikato and beyond are invited to meet authors, listen to them discuss their work, and ask questions. With activities and events for all ages, all month, this is a local celebration you won't want to miss.

Visit their website for the full schedule of events.

Opening: 5.30 - 7.30pm

Thursday 14th August 2025

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Exhibition Date: 14th August - 13th September 2025

In Reflex, Sarah Munro invites viewers into a quiet, instinctual space — where watercolor becomes not a tool of control, but a collaborator in uncertainty. These works arise from a process of immediate, unfiltered response: to memory, to mood, to the body’s own rhythm.

Watercolor, with its fluidity and resistance to overworking, mirrors Munro’s interest in what lies beneath conscious thought. Each brushstroke is a reflex — quick, unrehearsed, and honest. Color seeps, bleeds, and settles in ways that cannot be entirely predicted, revealing the tension between surrender and intention that defines her practice.

Rather than plan or perfect, Munro listens. She listens to the way water moves, how pigment pools or vanishes, how gesture meets gravity. The result is work that feels ephemeral yet grounded—at once fleeting and deeply rooted in presence.

Reflex is not a narrative. It is an impulse. A visual record of the moment before interpretation, before language. In this body of work, Munro explores what happens when we trust the immediacy of the hand, the weight of the brush, and the quiet logic of the unconscious.

Han Chao - Hanrad Gallery

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Artist Statement:

I am a studio-based painter in Hamilton, New Zealand and an academic specialising in creative practice research in painting and embodied cognition. I have exhibited in New York, Italy and France. Since 2018, I have taught art theory and supervised Honors and Masters-level creative practice research at Waikato Institute of Technology. My doctoral studies explored how painting activates embodied cognition and I am committed to developing this research in both my painting practice and teaching.

 Sarah Mitchell Munro

The Bruce Springsteen Experience is an international-level show dedicated to honouring the timeless music of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Featuring a full nine-piece lineup, this captivating performance delivers an electrifying blend of visual and audio excitement. Audiences are consistently wowed, with standing ovations being the norm.

As 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the iconic "Born to Run" album, The Bruce Springsteen Experience will perform the album in its entirety, along with a selection of The Boss's greatest hits. This special celebration promises to be a remarkable tribute, allowing fans to relive the magic of Springsteen’s music like never before. Don't miss this unforgettable experience!

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Saturday Night Fever defined the disco era and the high-energy second act delivers chartbuster after chartbuster from the Bee Gees, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Yvonne Elliman, The Trammps, Graham Bonnet and others – Night Fever, Jive Talkin’, Disco Inferno, Stayin’ Alive, More Than A Woman, Emotion, Warm Ride, If I Can’t Have You, How Deep is Your Love, You Should be Dancing and so much more.

Saturday Night Fever was the biggest selling sound recording between 1977 and 1980 with highest daily sales of 200,000 USA copies, and topped the popularity surveys of Billboard, Cashbox and Record World.

Awarded the Album of the Year Grammy in 1979, the release stayed in the Top 200 for 29 consecutive months and made Barry Gibb the first solo songwriter in history to have three consecutive #1’s and four songs in the Top Ten simultaneously.

Saturday Night Fever has since been added to the American National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress as “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant”.  Stayin’ Alive continues to make history as it features the first drum loop ever recorded on a pop music track and the Brooklyn Shuffle moves are still in evidence on the dance floor.

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After humble beginnings in a garage, to a record-breaking rise to the top of the podcast charts, Aotearoa’s favourite trio — Jordan Vaha'akolo, Brook Ruscoe, and Marc Peard — are taking The Morning Shift to the people. This August and September, they’ll be bringing eight massive shows across Aotearoa and Australia in their first-ever LIVE tour.

Real people, real talk and now real life. Expect all the stuff you love from the podcast: deep kōrero, big laughs, a few tears, spontaneous/questionable singing, plus whatever Jordan decides to overshare that night. The live show brings the podcast to life, with that signature Morning Shift energy that turns commutes into therapy sessions and takes gym workouts to another level.

The Morning Shift is more than a podcast, it's a community. Having now ticked over two years of being #1 in your hearts (sometimes #1 in the charts), their podcast has become a staple for thousands of New Zealanders who tune in daily.Whether you’re a Day One Shifter or just joined the movement last week — this is your moment.

Rally the crew, book the babysitter, and get ready for a night that promises to shift you.Thanks to Nando’s, who’ve helped take this dream from the garage to the stage.Shift Nation, we on.

The Black Flames are ready to burn the house down.

It’s been 30 years since Aaron Gascoigne stormed Hamilton stages fronting local rock legends ColdShock — a band that left its mark on the city with raw power, sweat, and sound. Now he’s back. And this time, he’s bringing fire, brass, and a full-blown musical machine.

The Black Flames are an 11-piece supergroup fusing rock, funk, and soul — the brainchild of Netherworld Dancing Toys founder Nick Sampson, alongside longtime collaborators Tim Robinson and Steve Shaw.

Up front:
Gascoigne — Waikato-born and battle-tested — a showman with the grit of rock and the heart of soul.

Beside him: Moana Richardson — a phenomenal young soul vocalist whose star is rising fast. Taking on the mantle once held by Annie Crummer, Moana brings undeniable power, grace, and soul well beyond her years. She’s the real deal — and she’s just getting started.

On guitar and vocals, Nick Sampson — the songwriter behind some of New Zealand’s biggest anthems (and yes, For Today is in the set).

In the engine room: Steve Shaw (The Loving Arms) on bass, Tim Robinson on drums, and Michael Larsen (ex-Jan Hellriegel band) on keys.

Overhead? A horn section that slaps — five of NZ’s finest from The Instigators, Wonderfish Collective, The Alibis and more — razor-sharp and loud as hell.

Their brand new single launches live on the night.

And it’s not just The Black Flames lighting up the room — opening the night are two of NZ’s most exciting young bands:
Pocket Watch — a gritty, high-energy crew with killer riffs and youthful swagger.
The Rain — indie rock with soul, heart, and hooks that stay with you long after the lights go out.

This isn’t just a gig — it’s a homecoming.
A new chapter.
And a chance to dance like it's 1994 again — but bigger, tighter, and groovier than ever.

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A celebration of Afrikaans with Bobby van Jaarsveld, Ruhan du Toit and Corlea Both with JD Mars.

This is three hours of great Afrikaans music by the best from South Africa. Kom kuier saam in jou taal by Afrikaans is Lekker. Moontlik gemaak deur die ondersteuning van Afriforum Wereldwyd.

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Hamilton’s own Berkley Normal Middle School turns up the volume with Disney’s Camp Rock The Musical!

Mitchie, Shane and their friends square off against rival Camp Star in a winner-takes-all showdown bursting with guitar-driven anthems, energetic choreography and hits like “This Is Me,” “Can’t Back Down” and “We Rock.”

Packed with humour and heart, this 70-minute, family-friendly production proves that friendship beats fame and music shines brightest when shared. Enjoy high-energy performances and irresistibly catchy pop-rock numbers, brought to the stage by Berkley students. Book now and join the jam!

Disney’s Camp Rock The Musical is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are supplied by MTI.

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SkyCity Hamilton this August presents the very best in Local and International Stand Up comedy once again.

Their headline act this month is the amazing Hayley Sproull. Star of the ZM Morning show, Taskmaster, 7 Days and host of this year's Comedy Gala, we are honoured Hayley will be at Hamilton's newest and best comedy club.

Support will be from one of Hamilton's finest exports, Paul Douglas. The master yarn spinner has been one of the busiest comedians in New Zealand since he broke onto the scene 10 years ago with commanding performances on The Comedy Gala and 7 Days.

“There are many ways to enjoy pleasure and laughter as a human being, one of the easiest is watching Paul Douglas” - Dai Henwood

The show will be hosted by the hairiest and best known faces in NZ comedy, Ben Hurley.

R18

General Admission: $43.28 each ($39.00 + $4.28 fees)

Step inside a compelling visual narrative that challenges society’s assumptions and celebrates the power of change. RAW Beauty is a transformative photographic master’s exhibition curated by Annah
Stretton, bringing to light the stories of waahine with lived experience of incarceration not as statistics, but as women of deep strength, mana, and untapped potential.

In this collection of striking portraits and personal reflections, the exhibition directly responds to the historic injustice of the state mugshot imagery captured and circulated without agency or consent. Here, those same women reclaim their image, voice, and future on their own terms.

The work has been developed in partnership with the waahine of RAW (Reclaim Another Woman), a pioneering social initiative that supports high-risk women to exit cycles of offending, poverty, and dependence. RAW offers a long-term, wraparound model of care that includes education, employment, and whaanau reconnection, walking alongside women both during and after their time in prison.

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11am – 12.30am
1pm – 2.30pm
3pm – 4.30pm
5pm – 6.30pm
7pm – 8.30pm 

Ticket Price 

Non-Members Ticket Price - $50 

Bookings for a Table of up to 4 Guests

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Choose from 40+ available wines to taste

8 different countries and over 20 different regions
Taste up to 15 different wines & Specialty Products
No BYO. Food availability at venue
Parking available on site
Book a table for up to 4 people
Exclusive Event Only offers available on the day

Limited seats available. Register early to secure your preferred day & session time.

The Wine Community Members (and guests)  - FREE

No Large Group Bookings. Maximum 1 Table per group

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After months of hard work, Bruce Cooper and I are proud to share The View from Poets Corner – a short film packed with creativity that brings Bruce’s poetry to life.

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Premiere Night – Saturday 9 August

Nivara Lounge, Hamilton

Doors 7PM | Screening 8PM

Koha/donation entry – everyone welcome

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Join us for the very first public screening, with a live poetry reading from Bruce and music from the incredible one-man band Mike Conlon.

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Come grab a drink, hear the words, and see the film on the big screen for the first time.

Big Thanks To Hamilton City Council, The Creative Communities Scheme, and Creative Waikato for Funding and Support in the Development of this Film

About the Film.

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Bruce Cooper, a Māori street poet from Fairfield, shares four raw and reflective poems inspired by the signs and stories of Poets' Corner. Filmed with a DIY spirit, it blends lo-fi charm and poetic grit – with cardboard props and handmade sets bringing Bruce’s words to life. Honest, creative, and rooted in place, The View from Poets' Corner turns everyday struggle into spoken word theatre.

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