SCREENWRITING WITH MICHAEL BENNETT
Pūtangitangi Greenmeadows Centre
Tue 21 Oct | 5.30pm for a 6pm start | 210 min
$35
Join Michael Bennett for a fun, fast-paced tour through the writing toolbox of an acclaimed screenwriter, using short films, music videos, and excerpts from great movies to explore some of the most important fundamentals of storytelling for the screen.
PACKING A PUNCH
Village Theatre, Tākaka
Wed Oct 22 | 6pm | 60 mins
$25
Michelle Duff’s Surplus Women explores power and patriarchy. Airana Ngarewa’s Pātea Boys delivers stories grounded in masculinity, place, and what it takes to survive. Chaired by Sunday Star-Times Short Story Award winner Fiona Sussman.

TUNE UP
Kirby Lane
Thu 23 Oct | 5.30pm – 8.30pm | 3 hrs
Free
Kick off Nelson Arts Festival with a boogie!
CRIME IN CONTEXT
Te Noninga Kumu Motueka Public Library
Thurs Oct 23 | 6pm | 60 mins
$25
What draws us to crime, psychological thriller, and suspense stories and what do they reveal about the deepest parts of ourselves?
#METOO DOWNUNDER
NCMA
Fri Oct 24 | 1pm | 60 mins
$25
Ali Mau (author of No Words for This) and Sonia Orchard (author of Groomed) examine what happens when the people you trust most betray you and shine the light on what needs to change for justice to prevail. Chaired by Dr Nikki Evans.
PUKAPUKA TALKS GALA NIGHT
NCMA
Fri 24 Oct | 7.30pm | 90 min
$35-39
A once-in-a-lifetime storytelling experience!
ARA: A MĀORI GUIDEBOOK OF THE MIND
NCMA
Sat 25 Oct | 10am | 75 min
$25
Dr Hinemoa Elder’s new book, Ara: A Māori Guidebook of the Mind, is a quest through the caves of hinengaro and a resource for anyone seeking comfort and ease amid the chaos of life. Chaired by Annie Fay.
INSIDE THE MEDIA
NCMA
Sat 25 Oct | 1pm | 60 min
$25
What is it really like to work in the news media? Join Ali Mau and Michelle Duff to learn more. Chaired by fellow journalist Naomi Arnold.
HINE TOA
NCMA
Sat 25 Oct | 3.3opm | 75 min
$25
Discover how a restless working-class girl from the pā became a founding member of Ngā Tamatoa, the Women’s and Gay Liberation movements, and an essential voice in protests across Aotearoa. Chaired by Donna McLeod.
MANA
NCMA
Sat 25 Oct | 7.30pm | 75 min
$25
Iconic Māori activist, artist, and performer Tāme Iti shares his extraordinary life, defined by resistance, resilience, and rangatiratanga.
CHIDGEY ON FIRE
NCMA
Sun 26 Oct | 10am | 60 min
$25
Set in a sinisterly skewed version of England, Catherine Chidgey’s astonishing new novel, The Book of Guilt, is a story told through the eyes of Vincent (one of three identical triplets) and the lonely but observant single child, Nancy. Claire Mabey, who will lead the kōrero, describes it as both a page-turner and deeply serious work.
DELIRIOUS
NCMA
Sun 26 Oct | 1pm | 60 min
$25
Damien Wilkins won the prestigious Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction for Delirious, a captivating tale about families and ageing, which follows ex-cop Mary and her husband Pete, a retired librarian, as they navigate life’s big transitions. Chaired by Elizabeth Knox.
SECRET ART POWERS
NCMA
Sun 26 Oct | 3.30pm | 60 min
$25
Possibly the first book to emerge from ‘live, disrupted TED-style talks’, Jo Randerson’s Secret Art Powers is a guide to using creative thinking to achieve radical change. In conversation with Meg Williams.
NOURISH WITH CHELSEA WINTER
The Summer House
Mon 27 Oct | 2pm | 105 min
$69-75
Chelsea Winter’s new cookbook Nourish heralds a joyful return to what established her recipes as household favourites – now reimagined with balance and a deeper intention to truly nourish.
THE STORY OF TIAHUIA
Suter Theatre
Mon 27 Oct | 5.30pm | 75 min
$25
Tiahuia: A Karanga to My Mother is artistic director and choreographer Merenia Gray’s tribute to her mother Tiahuia Te Puea Hērangi, the whāngai daughter of Princess Te Puea. Facilitated by Donna McLeod.
Shostakovich: UNPACKED
NCMA
Tue 28 Oct | 7pm | 70 min
$39 – $49
Take a front row seat to the raw emotional power of one of the 20th century’s most defiant musical voices.
WHERE CONVERSATIONS SPEAK AND MUSIC FLOWS
Cultural Conversations
Tue 28 Oct | 7pm | 75 min
KOHA
A unique musical experience that brings together four musicians from different cultural traditions.
DAWN RAGAS
Cultural Conversations
Wed 29 Oct | 6am | 60 min
KOHA
A gentle dawn concert of Indian ragas to wake the soul.
TAKADIMI
NCMA
Wed 29 Oct | 7.30pm | 90 min
$29 – $39
Where timeless traditions converge with bold innovation, crafting a rich soundscape of fusion.
BATTLE CHORUS
NCMA
Thu 30 Oct | 7.30pm | 90 min
$29 – $35
Battle Chorus is a social sing-along experience that brings people together for an unforgettable night of iconic melodies and sweet harmonies.
TOM LARK
Deville Music Hub
Thu 30 Oct | Doors Open 8pm, 8.30pm Supporting Act, 9.30pm Main Act
$26 – $29
Sunburnt psychedelic folk fit for sensitive cowboys to meander and philosophise to.
THE VELVET REBELS
NCMA
Sat 1 Nov | 6pm | 60 min
$29 – $39
Celebrating the Ratpack Era
POLLYHILL & SAMARA ALOFA
Deville Music Hub
Sat 1 Nov | Doors Open 8pm, 8.30pm Supporting Act, 9.30pm Main Act
$26 – $29
A new live show taking the timeless sound of PollyHill and Samara Alofa’s sonic collaboration AQUARIES into fresh atmospheres.
ANNA CODDINGTON (LIVE AT NEUDORF VINEYARD)
Neudorf Vineyards
Sun 2 Nov | 2pm (Doors 12pm) | 75 min
$49 – $55
One of Aotearoa’s most acclaimed singer-songwriters whose songwriting and vocal ability blends into her unique sound.