Michele A'Court, comedienne, writer and social commentator, will be the guest speaker at the BOP Garden and Art Festival's indulge Long Lunch. Photo/supplied
Michele A'CourtI will be the guest speaker at the BOP Garden and Art Festival's ever-popular indulge Long Lunch.
The effervescent New Zealand comedienne, writer and social commentator will ensure the lunch is seasoned with plenty of laughter.
Guests can expect a 40-minute comedy set, says Michele, who works the comedy circuit in New Zealand and abroad.
Tickets for the indulge Long Lunch will go on sale on the Garden and Art Festival website on September 1, and BOP Garden and Art Festival business manager Julie Eynon urges keen would-be attendees to get in smartly. The indulge Long Lunch is always a festival favourite, she says.
This year's event will be held on Sunday, November 20 from 11.45pm-3pm at the Festival Hub at The Lakes. It will be catered for by Bay Catering.
It will be the Tauranga public's second opportunity this year to enjoy Michele's talents.
She performed her solo show Stuff I Forgot To Tell My Daughter at Baycourt in March to a sold-out crowd. Tauranga was the first stop in a major national tour that took in 32 towns and cities.
"It was great to open such a significant tour with a full house in a place that is a bit of a second home for me - and certainly for my daughter," Michele says.
"I adore Tauranga. My daughter's whanau come from there, and I visit pretty regularly. My late mother-in-law, Kiritapu Wilson, was a keen gardener and one of her daughters (Mahia) continues to keep the garden flourishing at their home in Te Puna. My daughter's whenua is buried under an avocado tree on family land, and Mahia (and her mother before her) always make sure we have a supply of avocados from that particular tree when it is in season," Michele shares.
Just last month a book Michele wrote based on her touring show was released in the United Kingdom. Another book is due at the publisher shortly after the BOP Garden and Art Festival.
The NZ International Comedy Festival, Auckland Writer's Festival, the Ockham NZ Book Awards (which she hosted), and numerous corporate events have also been part of her year.
A month-long holiday in Italy has been squeezed in amongst the busy-ness, and she assures she will arrive in Tauranga refreshed and wired to entertain.
Tony Murrell Also set to delight festival goers is one of New Zealand's most passionate landscape designers - TV and radio gardening guru Tony Murrell.
Tony is the creator of outdoor spaces all over the world but, in November, he will be sharply focused on Tauranga. He will be sharing his wealth of plant knowledge at two workshops at the Lakes Hub.
Tony says he thoroughly enjoys meeting and working with people to build beautiful outdoor environments and is looking forward to interacting with the gardeners of Tauranga.
One workshop will be held on Thursday evening (6pm-7.30pm), the other on Friday morning (10am-11am) and each will carry a different theme. Tickets to Tony's workshops - and other workshop and speaker series events - will be available from Ticketek from September 1.
Thursday's workshop will carry the theme of "If in doubt, just rip it out - let's go shopping for plants". Friday's workshop will focus on "Features, fillers and spillers".
There is much Tony is keen to talk about. Soil and mulch, the scale of a garden, growing gardens under eaves, why irrigation systems are the bane of his life, plant selection, and making the move to remove plants, are but some of them.
People often inherit other people's gardens and it's learning how to keep some of the key elements, yet also having the courage to change things out - the courage to insert your own personality
Tony's soil and mulch advice will cover how to build up soil and save money by mulching. "I will be sharing techniques to keep mulch in the garden.
"Many people don't like to use it for fear of the birds moving it. I will share ideas around minimising this issue."
Gardening tips for tall people and those no longer so able are also likely to feature on his speaking agenda. Raised beds don't have to be the solution, he hints. Tony is keen to share his thoughts on the inclusion of vertical elements that don't compromise the integrity of a home's architecture.
"For example, site-appropriate trees and shrubs can create a sense of arrival and intrigue in the garden. I have clever ideas around creating a sense of arrival that can obscure that great big apron of concrete driveway and create some wow and mystique. More of the lovely has to happen when you are in the driveway," Tony believes.
Tony would like his workshops to include interactive time, featuring garden consultation and group participation. And his advice will include geographically-relevant details. "People can bring me their issues and we can discuss opportunities for change. It will be nice to have a focus on the propagation of plants from local gardens, for example. We can talk about how to have a resilient garden in the Bay, and how to create year-round interest.
I will be taking calls from the audience all the way through. I want everyone to go home with at least half a dozen things that will impact favourably the way they garden at home.
He will bring with him a range of plants as props to his discussion around plant group combinations - suitable for the BOP - for contemporary, classic and modernist gardens.
Tony has a philosophy around summertime gardening. "I will focus on seasonality and using summer to just sit and enjoy gardens in the dappled sun and breeze, rather than actually gardening. Do the spring time plant, I say, and then sit and enjoy the result as disturbing beds in summer is not a good thing."
the details: The BOP Garden and Art Festival will be held from November 17-20. For more information visit gardenandartfestival.co.nz.
Early bird tickets, for those keen to enjoy the festival trails, are available this month. Early bird prices are: Single day ticket $30, multi-day ticket $50 - available from gardenandartfestival.co.nz, Ticketek, Baycourt, Décor Gardenworld and Palmers. One- and four-day tickets are available. The festival format has changed - it will be a four-day event. Ticket holders now have the ability to explore any part of the trail, on any of the four days. One-day ticket holders will not be restricted to viewing specific areas, as all will be open, and they can use their one-day ticket on any day. Full price tickets go on sale from September 1 - available from the festival website, Ticketek, Baycourt, Palmers Bethlehem and Décor Gardenworld.
Those attending Tony's Thursday workshop will enjoy bubbles and nibbles.