Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

‘Being a Central Pulse supporter has been a test of loyalty for Wellington netball fan Joanne Krieble.

‘The team failed to win any games during the inaugural ANZ Championship, coming in bottom of the ladder after 14 rounds in the trans-Tasman, semi-professional netball league. But it hasn’t dampened Mrs Krieble’s enthusiasm for netball… ‘

Read this NZLive.com featured article.

Last night the programme for the 37th Wellington Film Festival was launched at the Paramount in Wellington. It’s always a packed event and the hottest ticket in town is the ’still warm from the press’ festival brochure. This year the brochure has a brand-spanking new format. It’s big, it’s glossy and it’s bulging with celluloid treats. The website has also been spruced up and it’s fabulous and informative - check it out at www.nzff.co.nz. And in a smart move the festival is making the most of our obsession with Web 2.0 and have their very own MySpace page where you can see snippets of some of the films on offer.

The 2008 Festival line-up is chock-a-block with good Kiwi talent and includes the largest number ever of feature-length New Zealand films. Well done, we say! Fourteen diverse works from the South to North Island represent the New Zealand of today in all its vibrant shades: idiosyncratic, traditional, outrageous, conformist, gritty, ephemeral.

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NZLive.com is making a big fuss and hoopla over the Montana New Zealand Book Awards this year – because we think NZ authors and publishers are worth it!

The judging of New Zealand’s best books published during the 2007 calendar year is carried out across eight categories – Fiction, Poetry, Biography, History, Reference & Anthology, Environment, Illustrative, and Lifestyle & Contemporary Culture.

Each week we will be profiling one or two of these categories right here on the Lively blog. We will have links to reviews, news and interviews – all you need to know about the finalists. We also will have a copy of one of the books from each category to give away on NZLive.com.

Remember to come back each week to learn all about a new category and go into the draw to win one of these lovely books on Lively.

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Once a year, twinkling in the winter sky just before dawn, Matariki (the Pleiades) signals the Māori New Year. This year, June 5 saw the rise of Pleiades and Matariki celebrations begin around the country.

Matariki is a time of celebration and reflection that everyone can take part in. Let NZLive.com introduce you to heaps of Matariki events where you can join in the spirit of the season.

There many ways to celebrate - from dawn services, drama and cook-offs to kapa haka, tours and tattooing. Matariki festivals, exhibitions and concerts abound.

Check out Te Ara - The encyclopedia of New Zealand to find out about the legends, significance to traditional harvests and the modern revival of Matariki. And if you want to know how to find Matariki, take a look at this great Beginners’ Guide to Matariki on the Signposts blog.

If you want to know more about the astronomy of Matariki, Te Papa, Waitangi Treaty Grounds and the Stardome Observatory are all running informative sessions. You’ll find some great things to do in the classroom on www.NZHistory.net.nz.

Alda Rezende is, in my opinion, a national treasure, both ours and Brazil’s. Last night’s concert in Wellington, with a trio of musicians from her home town of Belo Horizonte, was a delight.

Brazilian music isn’t just batucada drumming, samba shouting or bossa nova crooning. It’s all of that and a whole lot more. Each region has its own styles and traditions, and they borrow from each other and from everyone else. Not least The Beatles.

The four Minheiros who played last night offered songs from Pernambuco to Rio, including classics by some of the great names in the popular music of Brazil - Baden Powell, Edu Lobo, Chico Buarque, Chico Science - alongside originals. It’s all about melody, rhythm, tone and timbre, with lyrical fervour and performances that delight in their total accomplishment. I love this stuff, it’s irresistable, couldn’t stop my white-bread feet tapping.

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