Explore

One of the great benefits of the central city is the vast number of experiences on offer and there is no better one than the annual central city progressive dinner.

This exciting event is the opportunity for the public to enjoy the traditional progressive dinner model with a vibrant and exciting twist in the big city. With five restaurants on offer – each providing a meal course with a matching drink – this is a fantastic way to enjoy some of the central city’s best restaurants all in one evening.

One of the joys in exploring a city is finding spaces and places that appear off the main streets, often characterised as laneways.

Casabella Lane and Racquet Lane were described in my last column but Hamilton’s central city boasts two others that are also worthy of exploration: Bucks Way also off Barton St, and Riverbank Lane off Victoria St.Bucks Way is a laneway between Barton and Victoria streets alongside the Wilson’s car park, which is also home to the food truck markets on a Friday night.Bucks Way has a tenancy that is famous in the central city – Rocket Coffee.

Prepare for a magical experience with Stories in the Garden on November 9 and 23 from 10-11am in Garden Place. This enchanting hour of storytelling and games, hosted by characters from Enchanted Entertainment, is sure to ignite the imagination of children and adults alike. Don’t miss this chance for a story time adventure. For all the details, check out our event listing here.

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The annual Yamaha Rollo’s Marine Bridge to Bridge, takes place from November 8 to 10 on the mighty Waikato River from Grantham St. This thrilling event celebrates its 40th year and promises an adrenaline-packed adventure as water ski racers tackle the breathtaking course. It’s a must-see for thrill-seekers and families alike. For all the details, check out our event listing here.

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When it comes to looking for culinary delights from around the world, the north end of Victoria St does not disappoint. There is a mix of international cuisine that takes you from Asia to Africa in the space of a mere two blocks. The Hamilton Central Business Association showcased a sample of what is on offer, taking 30 business people from around the city, on a tasting evening in 90 minutes. First stop was Penang Street Food NZ at 941A Victoria St − a Malaysian restaurant offering a blend of traditional Malay flavours with a modern dining experience. The owners said they wanted to craft a delicious sensory experience true to their family motto and their roots, bringing their love for the Malay street food to the plate − and they certainly did this with a selection plate of nasi lemak, char kway teow, mee goreng and chicken satay. The evening was certainly off to a great start.

Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato is thrilled to announce Exscite, its interactive centre for discovery, won the prestigious Innovation Award at last night’s Hamilton Central Business Association CBD Awards 2024.

The award recognises Exscite’s outstanding contribution to the community through its innovative approach to science education and engagement.

The recent redevelopment of Exscite has transformed it into a state-of-the-art facility making science accessible and exciting for all ages.

Quality secondhand books adorn the shelves, and old singer sewing machines, typewriters and comfy leather chairs lend themselves to the somewhat nostalgic atmosphere. The books feel well-loved and well-thumbed, and the head high bookshelves will keep you entertained for hours.A particularly impressive display of craftsmanship is the towering bookcase located right next to the entrance, where the mystery remains as to what would happen if someone fancied a novel right at the top.

Hema, founded by master barber Liam, is not just another place to get a haircut—it's a sanctuary where the time-honored tradition of barbering meets modern sophistication. With a decade of experience under his belt, Liam has honed his craft in various shops, learning the ins and outs of what makes a truly exceptional barbering experience.

Now, he's brought that wealth of knowledge to Riverbank Lane, filling a gap in the market for a high-end, dedicated, and professional barber service. Hema, which means "to bevel" or "taper" in Te Reo Māori, perfectly encapsulates the shop's philosophy. Here, it's all about precision cuts, attention to detail, and a commitment to quality that sets Hema apart.

Located in an iconic building on the banks of the Waikato River, in the heart of Hamilton’s south-end cultural precinct, Waikato Museum’s varied galleries feature dozens of new exhibitions and public events annually.

This go-to is where you’ll find Hamilton locals grabbing their early morning Allpress espresso, unwinding with a long lunch (yes, there’s wine on the menu) or dropping in for a weekend brunch outing. TLDR; you can’t go wrong at Scotts Epicurean.Having been in business for more than 20 years, it’s no surprise the team here has café culture nailed. Relaxing, humble vibes paired with damn good grub = the recipe for success. Tucked away in a heritage building on ​​Victoria Street, you’ll be greeted with vintage windows, pressed tin ceilings and comfy leather booths that are perfect for lounging in.

This little lane between Barton and Anglesea Streets is bursting with treasures, and with 17 locally-owned stores there’ll be something that catches your eye, no matter your interests. Bit of a bibliophile? Poppies Bookstore has got you covered. Is fashion your forte? Sills and Co are NZ fashion designers with luxurious wardrobe staples in store, while Zebrano sources fashion-forward plus-sized pieces. If indulging in jewellery is more your thing, Midas Diamond Jewellers offers a stunning collection of ready-made jewels, as well as the option to customise one of your own.

This underground retro lounge is a shady haven of music, hosting local and international artists with a large stage, homely atmosphere, groovy lights and a dance floor.Well regarded as ‘the place’ to listen to live music in Hamilton, Nivara Lounge serves craft beer, wines, and a range of snack food for you to chew on while you listen to the beats on offer (they also sell old vinyls).

People rave about the friendly service, warm vibes and fun atmosphere. Hosting a range of musicians, Nivara Lounge also attracts visitors from far and wide, establishing itself as the hub of live music in the Waikato and beyond.

Sharing a space with the South Bloc offices and neighbouring the Hamilton District Court, Anne Fern sees plenty of professionals through its doors throughout the day. Rocket coffee is available to drink onsite, or you can purchase filter or espresso beans to take away with you. Hanging pots of foliage add a hit of green to the glossy wood panelling, and from the coffee jugs to the ethos everything here is sleek and simple.

Staff look super dapper in white tees and dark green aprons, but mixed with the cheeky marketing and menu, this place is proof that a restaurant can be both suave and easy-going all at the same time. Operating from an impressive island bar, pull up a stool and watch the talented bartenders strut their stuff, or take your tipple out to the impressive patio and watch the sun set over the mighty Waikato River. Feeling hungry? Mr. Pickles opens at midday, so you can perch here for lunchtime eats onwards. Designed to share, the menu is not a fixed thing but instead revolves around what customers want to see, and the waitstaff will cheerfully remind you that what works for you, works for them.

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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