Buddug James Jones and Max Mackintosh in Hiraeth. Photo/supplied
THE WOMEN behind the Tauranga Arts Festival might be forgiven for having a spring in their step - only 12 more sleeps and two years of planning will come to fruition with the opening of the ninth 10-day festival.
With the tagline 'The world comes to Tauranga', this year's festival has shows from England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic and Australia, while several Kiwi performers add to the international feel with birth connections to Canada, the US, Ireland and England, and heritage including Austrian-Jewish, Maori-Chinese and Tahitian-Cook Island.
"The speed of communication and transport means the world is a global village," festival director Jo Bond says.
"So it's not so difficult to bring the world to our doorstep."
The programme also offers home-grown talent - Rachel Callinan (co-author of Cafe), Rochelle Bright (Daffodils) and historical novelist Debra Daley, while singing sensation Ria Hall will lead the performance of specially written Takiri Ko Te Ata which opens the festival at 7am on The Strand waterfront on October 22.
Whetting our appetite for the festival is the opening on October 16 of Arboria. The giant, walk-through sculpture will be inflated on The Strand waterfront and is the newest colour-filled luminarium from UK company Architects of Air. Celebrating trees, Arboria includes a soundscape based on the Ecuadorian cloud forest.
And with the Pacific Crystal Palace venue just down the street on Masonic Park, this year's festival will have high visibility.
Bond and associate director Claire Mabey are especially excited by English show Echo Beach, which is being performed in only one place in New Zealand - right here in Tauranga. They want as many people as possible to experience the poignant solo show about the fragility of family life and memory so are offering eight block-book tickets for $80, a substantial saving.
"We've got some shows that are difficult to describe," says Bond, who has worked for the festival since 2003, "but we're hoping people will trust our judgement. Festivals are about trying something different from the buffet and it's often that 'tester' dish that becomes someone's most memorable."
Broadway hit Leo brings together physical skills, a clever set and projections to leave audiences gasping. But Leo is another show that despite being warm-hearted and suitable for all ages, is almost impossible to explain.
"All I can say is, I've seen it and I was mesmerised and moved," Bond says. "Words can't do it justice."
The festival team doesn't point out that it's entirely female, although it is, but their 'picks' of the programme do have something of a slant.
"I'm excited about seeing Kali Retallack in Finding the Silence," Mabey says.
"Her physical skills are something else and will be an inspiration to women of all ages.
And I can't wait to see Mel Parsons, she has an amazing voice and such a laid-back approach. Her shows are dynamite."
Bond takes her time choosing a favourite - after all, these are her babies - but eventually chooses dance show The Wine Project, performed to live music and in the round, along with Welsh comedy Hiraeth, which includes freshly-baked Welsh cakes for audience members.
"For music I'm going to pick Motu :: Oileain, a beautiful and stomping good mix of Irish and Maori, and SolOthello for innovation. Seeing it performed at Huria Marae will add something special."
It's no surprise that literary programme manager Sandra Simpson chooses an author: Christina Lamb has been covering Afghanistan for more than 25 years and is now reporting on the refugee crisis in Europe.
"I've read her latest book, Farewell Kabul," she says. "Christina makes a fine job of documenting the mess everyone has made of that poor country. Her sessions will be riveting."
Simpson also picks Mei-Lin Hansen, the Maori-Chinese playwright whose festival show The Mooncake and the Kumara is loosely based on her grandparents' relationship, and 'powerful thinker' and book historian Sydney Shep.
"One of the first tickets I bought, though, was for Czech busking band Praguematique."
Technical manager Bonnie Burrell follows her sense of sound with her picks: Pass the Gat has the combined guitar and voice talents of Warren Maxwell, Louis Baker and Thomas Oliver; dynamic classical chamber group NZTrio; and Julia Deans performing Joni Mitchell songs in Both Sides Now.
Sponsor liaison Nikki Hansen, meanwhile, is looking forward to sharing shows with her 5-year-old, particularly the comical contraptions of Squaring the Wheel where youngsters are afterwards invited to inspect the creation, and Dirt and Other Delicious Ingredients with its combination of comedy, dance and music.
"Seeing the look on a child's face during a live performance is magic," she says. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Tickets for all shows, including Arboria, are available from Baycourt or ticketek.co.nz. See the full programme and download Takiri Ko Te Ata lyrics and melody at www.taurangafestival.co.nz