Our next big Newtown clean-up is the first Saturday in September. Can you help? We will meet outside the Newtown Mall between 9am and 12noon – wear your old clothes, all equipment is provided. There will be painting, cleaning and gardening to do, BBQ cooking to help with – and Timebank credits to earn, if you are a Timebank member.

Volunteers get free BBQ sausages, thanks to Newtown New World – and sausages are for sale too, so you are welcome to come just to say “hello” and buy one!  Halal sausages are available.

KNC is coordinated by Newtown Residents’ Association and supported by SB Maintenance (the amazing graffiti removal experts), Newtown New World, Wellington City Council, and Amadeus Hair Salon.

A heart-felt “thank you” to everyone who made our Newtown Festival Street Fair Day on March 5th so fantastic – the creative performing artists and technical crew, the 460 stall-holders, the hundreds of volunteers on the day and the talented team who help in the weeks leading up to the event, the zero waste team, and all the other helpers and providers.

Tens of thousands of wonderful people came from near and far to celebrate with us and enjoy a world of music, dance and performance, sporting and crafting activities, and the magnificent range of goods, delicious food, and information on offer from the market stalls.  Special thanks to WCC for their huge support, and to all the other sponsors and funders who make the day possible. Thank you! You all made Newtown Festival a fabulous day.

Some images from the day…

The Big Girls – created by local women at workshops led by Rangiwahia Environmental Arts Centre. See the Girls again at Cuba Dupa.

Market Stalls in Riddiford Street – we host one of the biggest and most exciting markets in the region.

Raw Collective playing on the Tangata Whenua Stage, South Riddiford Street – one of 110+ acts on the day. Two of the many Zero Waste volunteers, coaching participants in minimising waste going to the landfill.

We had a fabulous time on Friday 25th February!

About 350 people attended and enjoyed games, conversation, food. and finished with a sing-along with the Mighty Ukes.  The weather was perfect, we couldn’t have asked for better.

Members of the Residents’ Association and other volunteers acted as hosts, prepared food and organised a variety of activities.  Association member Daphne was a primary organiser – she is a sport and recreation officer with WCC and brought the Push Play equipment. Many thanks also to Ray Tuffin, the WCC Community Advisor for Newtown, and his team for their input in organising and publicising the event. Ray has another role as a golf coach, and spent most of the evening energetically encouraging the young and not-so-young in ‘target golf’ – well done Ray!

The BBQ served regular and halal sausages and veggie skewers and was supported by St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies) volunteers who brought and cooked on their BBQ, by Newtown New World who lent their BBQ and supplied much of the food, and by Wellington Halal Meat Company.

Wellington Zoo were there with an interactive display of some of their smaller critters – wetas! The Police helped out with the sports and games scattered across the Park, and the Fire Service were there with a fire engine and provided education about fire safety and an alarming demonstration of what happens when a pot of cooking oil catches fire.

We also took the opportunity to advance the Our Town Newtown project, and many people spent time talking with Cally O’Neill, the Project Facilitator, about aspects of Newtown under the headings of ‘Love’, ‘Improve’ and ‘Create’.

The evening was a great success in all areas, and we are enthusiastic about doing it again next year.  Thank you to Wellington City Council and Neighbours Day Aotearoa for encouraging these events.

We had an excellent turnout of volunteers on June 4th.  It was particularly good to see Ana, the Community Engagement Co-ordinator from St Vincent de Paul, and the group of VUW students, we hope they come again!  As always, Newtown New World were very generous in supporting the BBQ – we had lots of takers for sausages!

There were two big projects – painting the fence around the Cancer Society carpark, and digging over garden beds and spreading compost at the St Thomas’s Courtyard, ready for some new planting.  As well there was lots of rubbish cleared and graffiti cleaned- it made a real difference.

The Centenary of the Berhampore Golf Course will be celebrated on Saturday the 31st of October.

8am: Mornington Open Day Tournament – To Support The First Tee Junior Golf Programme in Wellington Open to Men, Women, & Juniors. $35 Entry Fee (Juniors $20) (includes lunch during prize giving).  Over $5,000 to be WON in Prizes.  Entries: Phone (04) 389 6816, Email: mornington@golf.co.nz

1-4pm: Open Day and Community Festival

In 1915 Berhampore was the birthplace of community golf in New Zealand. It was the first public golf course in New Zealand, created to provide the working class an opportunity to play golf. At the time golf was deemed to be a rich man’s sport, and all the existing golf courses were run by private golf clubs. It was also the first in NZ to recognise golf as a sport for women, with a women’s club established soon after the men’s.

You can follow this link for a very interesting illustrated account of the history.

The Centenary of the Mornington Golf Club. The Club, which now has a growing number of sports and community groups and activities, was formed in January 1916 and celebrates its centenary at Wellington Anniversary weekend, 23rd-25th January 2016. 
See more on the Club’s website.

The Chinese Baptist Church invite you all to a fantastic culinary experience, where you can sample some of your favourite Chinese dishes.  The Fair will be at their headquarters, 24 Donald McLean St, from 10am – 4pm.

A group of local musicians write:  We are passionate about music, especially the singer songwriter acoustic type of sound. So to hear more of the talented acoustic performers in our area, we have started “Newtown Acoustic Sound”, and hope that many of you will come and share with us in the Upstairs room at the Office Bar in Newtown. We will start it off on Sunday 20th September at 5.30pm with some invited guests, and we hope to develop an open mic. We want to hear your ideas to help us develop a uniquely Newtown music destination.

Celebrating with a programme of music from the world’s cultures, Wellington Community Choir will be joined by guest choirs and local musicians at this special 10th anniversary concert. See more here.

We can almost claim the choir for Newtown – members from all over Wellington come to Te Whaea: National Dance & Drama Centre in Hutchison Rd to practice., and at this year’s Newtown Festival the Choir were the first performance on the Main Street stage.  Follow this link to see their profile.

Toi Whakaari, the New Zealand Drama School, is presenting a double bill: two of the most groundbreaking plays from the German theatre scene are coming to Wellington.

Pains of Youth
by Ferdinand Bruckner, 1929 (version by Martin Crimp), directed by Shane Bosher.

These plays will be on at Te Whaea: National Dance & Drama Centre, 11 Hutchison Road, from Saturday 13 June–Tuesday 23 June (no shows on Monday 15 June and Sunday 21 June): 

6.30pm – Woyzeck
8.30pm – Pains of Youth

Public matinees will be on 20 June: 12.30pm – Woyzeck, 2.30pm – Pains of Youth.

Book online or phone (04) 381 9250

A startling script from writer Ferdinand Bruckner in 1929 titled Pains of Youth, and Woyzeck that was born in the hands of dramatist Georg Büchner in the 1830s. Both plays offer archetype stories from remarkably contemporary viewpoints. “These are two extraordinary writers and these plays were just centuries ahead of their time”, says Woyzeck’s director Jonathon Hendry, who has also adapted the unfinished play. Continue reading Theatre in Newtown →

Get updates at any time from  newtownfestival.org.nz  Browse the events, peformers and programme, click on the links, listen to the music – its all there!   

The many events Celebrating Newtown between now and March 23rd include the Newtown Community Centre celebrating their building’s Centenary on Feb 21st, and a series of things happening on March 14th – the Great Newtown Garage Sale Day, the Big Bike Fix-up, and the Carrara Park Jazz Picnic. There are lots more events on other days – get the full programme here.

The big day is the Festival Street Fair Day on Sunday March 8th.  The streets of Newtown are closed to traffic from Mein St to Russell Tce, so we can have the biggest free party in New Zealand!  There are lots of actives in South Riddiford St that are new to the Festival this year – including the Te Atiawa Toa Te Raukura Stage, and free Street Sports  – check it out!  We are also delighted that the International Women’s Day organisers have chosen to celebrate their day with us this year – join them on the Wellington Women Walk for Peace leaving from the Normanby/Riddiford St corner at 10.30, and for a day of events at the International Women’s Stage

What: The Newtown Pop up Art Gallery

When: Saturday Feb 14^th 10am-9pm (Rain day Sunday 15^th)

Where: Carrara Park

This is a free event. Enter off Regent St or up walkway from 107 Daniel St.

In its inaugural exhibition The Newtown Pop up Art Gallery presents ‘Flight’. This magical world of birds in flight is a collaboration between Newtown painter Paul Forrest, Auckland photographer Derek Tearne, soundscape artist from Wellington’s Zealandia Matu Booth and live birdsong from the resident birds of Carrara Park. Come and have a cup of tea in the outdoor lounge and experience the delightful sight and sound world of ‘Flight’.

For more information go to www.paulforrest.co.nz

This is a Newtown Festival Celebrate Newtown event. For other events from 13/2/15 until 23/3/15 go to the Festival website.

Celebrate Newtown!   There will be six weeks of events, starting with Carnival Del Barrio hosted by Bebemos, February 13th – 15th.  Get the latest details on the Festival website www.newtownfestival.org.nz – the programme is still evolving, so check back regularly.

The centrepiece is the Newtown Festival Fair Day on Sunday 8th March, when the streets of Newtown from Mein St to Rhodes St will be full of music, performance, stalls and the most wonderful array of food from all corners of the world!