04. - 20.10.19 Waitaki Arts Festival

Join us on a fun journey through the festival. You will notice an underlying theme for this year's festival... last time was bugs, this year it's birds - those wonderful wild birds owls and ravens - not that we see many of these in our skies, but we have all heard many tales and rhymes relating to them.

There will be something for everyone to enjoy - family fun, comedy, literature, multi-dimensional theatre and music. Join the Oamaru Opera House for one or many events and bring your friends... the more the merrier.

Follow @WaitakiArtsFestival on Facebook or have a look at the Oamaru Opera House website for the full programme and detailed descriptions.

The programme:

30 September - 03 October 2019: Art on Bikes Workshop

Linking with the Waitaki branch of Forest and Bird, we will learn about endangered birds from the Waitaki then create costumes for Art on Bikes. Bring your bikes and helmets along to the workshops to decorate and get ready for Art on Bikes on Sunday 6 October.

Suitable for all ages | $2 per child | no booking required | drop in for an hour session | dress for mess! | At St Paul's Church Hall (7 Coquet St) | 11AM - 3PM

04 and 05 October 2019: Owls do cry

04 October: TICKETS (+ FEES): STUDENTS: $45.00; ADULTS: $65.00. / 7PM

05 October: TICKETS (+ FEES): STUDENTS: $45.00; ADULTS: $65.00. / 4PM

Considered the first great New Zealand novel by celebrated author Janet Frame, Owls Do Cry tells of the Withers siblings, Daphne, Chicks, Toby and Francie, and their lives in small town New Zealand following a family tragedy.

Bringing the characters, imagery and poetry alive through Red Leap Theatre’s trademark physical and visual style, Owls Do Cry reveals Frame’s insight into our society and communities.

06 October 2019: Tour Janet Frame's Oamaru

$10 / 1PM - GUIDED TOUR

Join us on a discovery tour to explore the Oamaru that writer Janet Frame knew in the 1930s and 1940s. You’ll visit some of the iconic places of her childhood and learn about her own incredible life story. There are two tour options during the Waitaki Arts Festival: 1. Pick up a free brochure from the Oamaru i-SITE and enjoy a self-guided tour at your leisure. 2. Book a place on the guided walking tour with Ralph Sherwood, the former curator of Janet Frame’s childhood home at 56 Eden Street. The tour includes admission to Janet Frame’s childhood home at 56 Eden Street (otherwise not open until November) and a light afternoon tea. The guided tour starts at 1pm, rain or shine, and should take about two to two-and-a-half hours. Bring your walking shoes!

06 October 2019: Art on Bikes

FREE EVENT / 10AM - 1PM

Grab your bike, grab your clan – let’s go! Cycle the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail from Weston to Oamaru, with fun stops along the way!

Starting at the corner of Westview Drive and Whiterocks Road in Weston, an awesome crew is on hand to guide you on your way. There are art stations for decorating your helmet, and coffee available to fuel up for your ride. And you’re off!

08 and 09 October 2019: Aunty

08 October 2019: Kurow - TICKETS: $25.00 (+ FEES) / 7.30PM - KUROW HALL, 31 GORDON ST, KUROW

09 October 2019: Hampden - TICKETS: $25.00 (+ FEES) / 7.30PM - HAMPDEN HALL, 25 LONDON ST, HAMPDEN

"Hello everyone it's your aunty here. Family BBQ will be at mine this year. Bring a plate but I'm on a diet so please be considerate. BYP booze and durries. No scabs this year thank you."

Fresh off sold-out seasons around NZ throughout 2017 & 2018, Johanna Cosgrove immerses you in her award-winning comedy bonanza. This is the family reunion with a one-woman tornado you never knew you wanted or needed.

10 October 2019: Movie Night in the Park

ADMISSION BY DONATION / 6.30PM (FILM SCREENS AT 8PM)

Enjoy the greatest show in the Waitaki with the Waitaki Youth Council’s outdoor screening of 'The Greatest Showman'! This is a great family night out with this stunning movie, also featuring live performances – live music, magic, astonishing arboreal aerial artistry, best-dressed competition and food trucks!

Come dressed in your best circus-themed gear and win prizes, bring a blanket and enjoy a picnic dinner on the grass while live performers entertain until the sun sets, then settle in for one of the most exciting movie experiences of recent years.

11 October 2019: Mr Red Light

TICKETS: $45.00 (+ FEES) / 7PM

ABSURDLY FUNNY AND JOYFULLY INVENTIVE THEATRE.

Mr Red Light is a man who attracts bad luck. Fleeing the police after a botched bank robbery, he seeks refuge in a pie shop and finds himself in charge of three very uncooperative hostages.

As time ticks by and police negotiations are bungled, Mr Red Light and his captives play a game of getting to know you.

Each has their own troubles. For Joker, employee of the month at the pie shop, life is a party he was never invited to. Dark and defensive Chrys is trapped behind the secretive walls she’s built around her. Eva, a lonely old woman, has lost the love of her life and is staring at her own mortality. And strangely, Mr Red Light seems to know more about his hostages’ lives than is possible.

With nowhere to run and nothing to lose, the four strangers form an unlikely bond. Suddenly the pie shop is a place where anything can happen.

12 October 2019: Up and Away

TICKETS: $15 (+ FEES) / 10AM & 11AM & 1PM & 2PM

A THEATRE PERFORMANCE CREATED FOR BABIES.

Up and Away is a playful and gentle theatrical performance created exclusively for babies. Two performers interweave elements of theatre, play and live music in a half-hour performance, which culminates in free play and exploration-time for baby audience members.

Up and Away is performed in a cosy, purpose-made tent. Audience numbers are limited to a small group, and only pre-walking babies may attend. This results in a calm, safe atmosphere and optimal conditions for babies to engage in the performance.

17 October 2019: Edge of the Alphabet

FREE ADMISSION - OAMARU PUBLIC LIBRARY, 62 THAMES ST, OAMARU / 6PM

AUTHOR’S TALK WITH EMMA NEALE.

In this talk the author will discuss the life and works of Janet Frame. Frame’s development as an acclaimed writer will be examined against her life and times together with the significant influences that helped shape her literary direction.

Emma Neale is a New Zealand novelist and poet. Emma Neale’s first work was published in 1998 and her writing has been featured extensively in magazines, newspapers and journals, and several anthologies.

17 October 2019: Made in the Waitaki

TICKETS (+ FEES): STUDENTS: $10; ADULTS: $15 / 7.30PM

LOCAL TALENT ON THE OPERA HOUSE STAGE!

This event will showcase the talented people of the Waitaki District – people who have achieved high performance standards in dance, singing and music.

Enjoy performances from contemporary to classical pieces featuring some of Waitaki’s best. It could be your neighbour! With fun performances and local talent galore; get a group together and enjoy a great night out.

18 October 2019: Nevermore

TICKETS: $25.00 (+ FEES) / 7.30PM - EARLY SETTLERS HALL, 1 SEVERN ST, OAMARU

EDGAR ALLAN POE’S TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION.

NO Productions Theatre, creators of immersive ghost stories and tightly produced theatrical chillers like Turn of the Screw present their new touring show!

As dusk falls on the town of Oamaru, we invite you to join a popular 19th century literary salon. Enjoy the delightful horror of Edgar Allan Poe’s tales performed in soft candlelight by expert storytellers.

It is 1880, Oamaru, and the newly-arrived Lord Ravencourt (Michael Adams), patron of the arts, has secured the services of the famous Mr Allen (David Allen) to provide tonight’s entertainment. But everything is not as it seems. As the night grows darker, so do the stories…

19 October 2019: A seat at the table

TICKETS: $12 (+ FEES) / 2PM

THE NEW ZEALAND WINE STORY ON FILM.

Rare bottles of French fine wine sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you want to make great wine, as a winemaker anywhere in the world you hold up France as the benchmark. For centuries, the monks of Burgundy and Champagne and the great families of Bordeaux dedicated their lives to understanding the land, the process and what to plant where and why. There’s no way to short-cut hundreds of years of hard work into a few decades. Or is there?

A Seat at the Table is a coming of age story about New Zealand finding its place in the world of wine, and its ambition to make some of the best wines in the world. As the youngest country in the world and the last to be populated, New Zealand is in the enviable position to learn from everyone else’s mistakes.

20 October 2019: Sunday session at Scotts

FREE ADMISSION / FROM 2PM - SCOTTS BREWING CO. 1 WANSBECK STREET, OAMARU

RELAX IN THE BEER GARDEN WITH SOME FINE TUNES.

If the weather’s great, it will be set up outside in the beer garden. If the weathers not so flash, set up will be inside by the fire, either way we have your Sunday afternoon sorted down at Scotts Brewing Co.