26 February 2010Final 'Bone Feeder' Show Added
Due to The Bone Feeder's popularity and limited capacity, we have added one more show, to be held in the Chinese Scholar Garden tonight, 6.30pm.
The show has recieved rave reviews and follows the journey of a young man searching for links to his past, when a century earlier the SS Vetnor sank in the Hokianga Harbour with the bones of 499 Chinese miners bound for ancestral graves in Canton. He finds more than just restless spirits.....
This promenade style play, where the audience move around the gardens with the cast is written by Renee Liang and produced by the O.Co Theatre. It features the talents of Waikato based Chinese Orchestra New Nature and is directed by Simon Zhou, Musical director and composer Andrew Corrêa.
Tickets are $22 adult and $18 concession and can be purchased in the ticketek office based in the information centre or with cash on the door. Show is limited to 20 audience members so get in early!!!
23 February 2010Festival posters now on sale
Our stunning Waikato Times Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival posters are now on sale at the information centre at the Hamilton Gardens.
We have recieved a lot of interest in purchasing them, and we now have approximately 300 on sale in response to this!
Available posters don the festival flower logo designed by sucessful New Zealand artist Chris Martin. Two sizes are available; small size posters are $1, large size $2 and large size art quality $4.
18 February 2010Festival ticket sales blow record books
The Waikato Times Hamilton Garden Arts Festival doesn't officially kick off until tomorrow but already the number of tickets sold is "mindblowing".
Festival director Sarah Bettle said the number of tickets sold was 150 per cent up on last year with customers snapping up almost 5000 passes for the various shows before the Festival has begun.
"The rise in ticket sales has been around 10-15% for the past few years but this year the festival has had an overhaul and now there are more events and it runs for two weeks."
Tomorrow's opening night will feature a free concert at 7pm by latin-funk super group Batucada Sound Machine in the Rhododendron Lawn with warmup entertainment by Chilean soul singer Carmen Salvador and Waikato-based Wai Taiko Drummers.
So far four shows including Lyrica, Emily Smith and Jamie McClennan, Your Worlds Your Lobster and the first performance of Shakespere's Romeo, Juliet and Viola have sold out. In fact interest in the bard's play, which is free and runs throughout the festival, was so high festival organisers decided to re-configure the seating at the Medici Court to fit in 20 extra people.
Saturday night's Live At The Gardens concert featuring Opshop, the Jordan Luck Band, Dane Rumble and Annabel Fay, is also expected to sell out.
2 February 2010Lyrica sells out a month in advance
One of the highlights of the Waikato Times Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival final night has sold-out over a month before the event.
Lyrica, pop opera sensation and a favourite from the 2009 event were invited back for an encore performance to help close the 2010 Festival on March 4.
Festival Director Sarah Bettle says that the show was one of a number of fast sellers early on and was predicted to sell out.
"While Lyrica was predicted to have a full house on the night, selling out over a month before the performance is an extraordinary precedent for the Festival.
"Overall ticket sales have been exceptional with still two weeks to go before opening night. Certainly the large events such as OpShop, Dane Rumble, Topp Twins and the Waikato Times Food and Wine Festival have contributed to this however many of the theatrical and smaller niche events are proving highly popular and we expect more events to sell to capacity before opening night.
"While all shows are proving popular, its the 'one night only' shows that people really need to get onto fast if they want to ensure a seat. Emily Smith, Joe Bennet (The Worlds Your Lobster) and Robin Ward (Harpist) are all only appearing once and are also filling quickly.
"Overall Topp Twins take the crown for the fastest selling ticket to date, however as the girls will be performing on the big stage on the Rhododendron Lawn, there’s still plenty of space available.
"The OpShop/Dane Rumble combination is proving a winner also, and with Dane's latest single hitting number one this week plus OpShops new album soon to be released, it going to be huge."
Planning for the Festival is in full flight and the countdown has begun to February 19.
Opening night will feature a free concert featuring sensational Latin Funk supegroup Batacuda Sound Machine in the Rhododendron Lawn. Warm up entertainment will be provided by Latin American soul singer Carmen Salvador and drumming sensations Wai Taiko.
Information on both free and tickets events can be found at www.hgaf.co.nz
19 January 2010Change to the Great Debate time and date
Organisers have announced a change to the time and date of The Great Debate.
The event will now be held on Friday 26th of February at 7pm; The venue for the debate is the English Flower Garden. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.
The Great Debate promises to be a magnificent event with a suprise celebrity adjudicator and celebrity public speakers.
The moot is 'We can save Garden Place' which sets the scene for one interesting and heated debate.
Award-winning Classic Hits radio host Mark Bunting is set to captain one team, while Waikato TImes editor Bryce Johns leads the other. '
Entry into The Great Debate is free.
1 January 2010Gardens Festival Grows Up
Waikato Times, 29 December 2009
When Alana MacKay and Mark Oberman resigned their respective positions as manager and chairman of the Waikato Times Hamilton Garden Arts Festival earlier this year there were fears for the event's future.
Ms MacKay had a long connection with the festival and had managed it for two years, while Mr Oberman was its founding chairman.
They gave personal reasons for their departure, adding it had nothing to do with the dip in numbers attending this year's event – heavy rain on the opening and closing weekends resulted in the festival registering its lowest crowds in four years, with about 60,000 attending over the 10 days.
Those storm clouds appear to have passed for now and the 2010 festival, which opens on February 19, looks to be bigger and better than ever.
Ms MacKay and Mr Oberman, whose contributions should be applauded, were quickly replaced by Sarah Bettle, a former Hamilton City Council communications officer, and Hamilton advertising guru Chris Williams.
They have moved quickly to beef up the event. To date, the most obvious difference is the inclusion of renowned Kiwi musicians such as Opshop, Jordan Luck and Annabel Fay, as well as Waikato duo the Topp Twins.
But there is more – a lot more. There will be about 50 per cent more performers than last year, workshops are being included in the programme for the first time and the Rose Garden will now have a stage designed for large performances.
The opening night will be energised by Batucada Sound Machine, a 13-piece super group blending Latin rhythms and Pacific soul with backing from our own Wai Taiko Drummers and Chilean singer-songwriter Carmen Salvador.
The pinnacle of the festival, the Sunset Symphony, will see soloists and Hamilton choirs joining the Waikato Symphony Orchestra on stage. Moreover, we are also adding The Waikato Times Food & Wine Festival in the Rose Gardens on February 27 and 28. In all, the proportion of free shows is greater than 60 per cent – a boon for residents. Ms Bettle said her ultimate goal was to make the arts festival one that attracted the best local, national and international talent and to put on a great show; she and her helpers have taken a great first step.
The festival could and should be one of jewels in the crown – the cultural cousin of Balloons Over Waikato, the V8s and Fieldays.
It's all about attracting more people to our wonderful region and giving residents something to shout about. Being at the heart of all things in the Waikato, we're delighted to be involved and wish the organisers every success in making the event a highlight of 2010.
12 December 2009City Garden Arts Festival sprouts four more days
The Waikato Times Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival 2010 has been extended to 14 days of fun by the addition of major national acts.
Last year the festival spanned 10 days but because of a plethora of headline acts including Opshop and the Topp Twins, as well other Waikato acts, the organisers have been able to programme a fortnight of shows.
As of today, the website www.hamiltongardensartsfestival.co.nz is live, tickets are on sale, and programmes are available.
Festival director Sarah Bettle says she is thrilled with the arts festival lineup and believes the new acts will create a "very energetic and upbeat" atmosphere.
One of the main reasons for the bigger festival was having Creative New Zealand on board for the first time.
The government agency has often been criticised for its lack of support for the Waikato and Ms Bettle sees this as a positive step in building a relationship with the region.
"They have been conspicuous by their absence in the Waikato so it's really significant," she says.
Creative NZ programmes manager Rose Campbell says they were impressed with the new direction of the event and were keen to support the new board and director.
"We want to support anything with a national focus – we look for high-quality New Zealand work," she says.
She says the outlook for the following years is good too.
"If the festival develops in the direction it's going, we see there's potential for funding in the future."
A potential highlight is Hamilton pop-opera band Lyrica returning for the second consecutive year – something that very rarely happened, according to Ms Bettle. They play on March 4, the final day of the festival, before embarking on a small-towns tour of the country.
Ms Bettle says the festival is moving slightly more towards the mainstream than in previous years but the key element is that each act must have "authenticity and originality".
The new-look festival will also take audience participation to another level.
Some of the theatrical performances are interactive and there is an acting workshop with Stuart Devenie, and a songwriting workshop with Carmen Salvador, who is opening the festival with Batucada Sound Machine.
Although there is much for Ms Bettle to organise, stage building begins only a week beforehand.
"It's such a beautiful venue, we just try to use what's already there," says the first-year organiser.
Part of the proceeds from ticket sales goes towards Hamilton Zoo's native Hochstetter's frog colony, which Ms Bettle says is fitting for an event in such a stunning environment.
8 December 2009Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival concert to benefit local frog conservation
Four of New Zealand's top musical acts will feature in the Waikato Times Hamilton Gardens Art Festival in February, with a percentage of the proceeds from ticket sales going towards Hamilton Zoo's native Hochstetter's frog colony.
Opshop, Dane Rumble, The Jordan Luck Band and Annabel Fay will perform at Hamilton Gardens on Saturday, 20 February at 6.30pm as part of The Ark Tour's 'Opshop Live at The Gardens' concert.
In keeping with The Ark Tour's focus on conservation, a percentage of ticket sales will go towards the construction of a new enclosure for Hamilton Zoo's Hochstetter's frogs and assist with the facility's captive breeding and research programme for the native species.
Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival director Sarah Bettle said that while the partnership between the festival and The Ark Tour was exciting on its own, being able to use the event to benefit Hamilton Zoo's conservation efforts stepped it up another level.
"Having The Ark Tour's Opshop Live at The Gardens concert as our headline act for 2010 heralds a whole new standard and scope in entertainment for the festival," she said.
"Not only will the music and venue combine to be a sensational evening of entertainment, but the knowledge that everyone will be contributing to one of the city's key conservation efforts is just the icing on the cake.
"This concert will be a unique blend of music, arts and conservation, and will definitely be a 'not to miss' event for Hamilton."
Hamilton Zoo director Stephen Standley said the facility is honoured to be associated with the event.
"It isn't often that frogs get to share the spotlight with the likes of Opshop and Jordan Luck so we were absolutely thrilled when it was suggested that our Hochstetter's Frog colony would be a worthy cause for this concert," he said.
"We are extremely proud of our partnership with both the Waikato Times Hamilton Gardens Art Festival and The Ark Tour."
Hamilton Zoo is home to the only captive colony of Hochstetter's frogs in the world. One of four living species of frogs native to New Zealand, Hochstetter's frogs were once widespread throughout the country before habitat destruction and the introduction of exotic predators such as rats and stoats saw them restricted to the top half of the North Island.
"By housing a Hochstetter's frog colony here at Hamilton Zoo, we are able to develop husbandry skills so they are protected from the threats that are causing the depletion of wild populations, have a secure environment in which to breed and provide a useful tool for educating zoo visitors about native frog conservation," said Mr Standley.
5 December 2009Top Kiwi act help 'lift the bar'
The Waikato Times Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival has received a makeover in the form of several high-profile Kiwi acts.
Opshop, Dane Rumble, Jordan Luck, Annabel Fay and the Topp Twins have been announced as the headline performers for the February summer festival.
Event director Sarah Bettle said festival-goers would be able to enjoy twice as many events hosted from two main stages at the Hamilton Gardens.
"After 13 years of growth it's time to lift the bar to international heights and I think these acts herald a whole new standard and scope in entertainment for the festival," Ms Bettle said.
Tickets will go on sale 11 December for the February 20 concert featuring Opshop, Dane Rumble, The Jordan Luck Band and Annabel Fay.
Tthe official festival launch date of December 11 will also see tickets for the Topp Twins and all other festival events go on sale.
Both concerts will be staged on the Rhododendron lawn.
Ms Bettle is expecting huge support for the event which will also include the popular food and wine festival.
While Ms Bettle is in her first year as event director, she has a longstanding association with the festival.
"I have performed at the festival for many years but I am now enjoying a different perspective as director," Ms Bettle said.
Further details about the festival will also be released in the Waikato Times over the coming months.
