Rachel Bowen's If I'd Known: Selections for June in Palmerston North

Palmerston North becomes a Mecca for book lovers this weekend with the Red Cross Annual Book Sale.

How can it be June? This must be a sign of ageing, that the months gallop along and suddenly – boom! – we're approaching the halfway point of the year. Before we know it, winter will be over but, without wanting to wish the year away, I have to say June is worth the rush to get to.

Cross your fingers for some more mild weather as we celebrate Her Majesty's official birthday and Platinum Jubilee. Palmerston North doesn't really need an excuse for a party and Queen's Birthday weekend proves that.

We start with that annual highlight, the Manawatū Jazz and Blues Festival, running until June 6 at various spots around Palmy and Feilding. You don't have to be a seasoned jazz enthusiast to attend – everyone's welcome! Some shows are free.

A highlight for me is always the free cafe scene performances, and it's definitely worth checking out the high school competition during the day on Saturday at Globe Theatre.

Also at the Globe Theatre, this year's Jazz Gala Concert has the Rodger Fox Big Band playing the music of Sir Dave Dobbyn with guest vocalist Erna Ferry. Jazzing up Sir Dave seems like a fantastic idea – I think it will be great, and apparently the man himself approves.

The festival wraps up with the annual Big Band Bash on Sunday featuring Capital City Big Band, Swamp City Big Band, Whanganui Jazz Orchestra, and Manawatū Jazz Club Big Band. Check out the full programme of events at mjc.org.nz.

If music's not your thing, over the weekend the city also becomes a Mecca for book lovers (and also lovers of jigsaws, games, CDs, DVDs, sheet music, etc, etc) as it's the 2022 Palmerston North Red Cross Annual Book Sale!

From Friday to Monday, head to Barber Hall in Waldegrave St to find something special and support local, national and international Red Cross programmes. Details on eventfinda.

For a spot of reflection, you might visit Te Manawa Art Gallery. Nga Hau Ngakau is open, taking you on a journey through the mystical narratives of te ao Māori with Robin Slow's paintings and Brian Flintoff's carved taonga, tied together by the music of Bob Bickerton.

There's a special treat in the exhibition The Iny People of Central Brazil, which opens this weekend and provides a touchstone to the culture of the Iny people through ceramics, film and photography. This is a collaboration between Te Manawa, Massey University, and Museu do Indio in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Square Edge Arts Centre is also opening an exhibition on Friday night, presenting the work of Rangitīkei regional artists.

The work of local arts organisations will also be showcased at Te Matapihi Community Centre in Bulls on Saturday 10am-4pm, including guest artists from Manawatū as part of a pilot regional artists exchange programme.

Manawatū and Whanganui hold yearly art trails and, while Rangitīkei artists are involved in both trails, there's not yet a trail specific to that region. The Square Edge exhibition runs until June 28.

Honestly, Queen's Birthday weekend in Palmy is a holiday destination! Invite your friends and family to come and visit and you can blow their minds with how much there is to do here.

Somebody from out of town said as much to me at the opening night of Misery at Centrepoint last week which, by the way, is as awesome as I hoped it would be when I wrote about it last month. Misery is on stage throughout June.

If you're quick, you can still catch Godspell, running at Wallace Development Company Theatre until Saturday. So, no excuses for a dull holiday weekend. And now I might have to talk to my editor about a column to cover the rest of the month!

• Rachel Bowen is an arts enthusiast, sometime actor and, as a Palmerston North city councillor, chairwoman of the council's Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee. The views expressed here are her own.