The Hamilton Arts Festival programme has been launched. Image / Supplied
The Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora Ki Kirikiriroa, formerly the Hamilton Garden Arts Festival, has released its extensive programme for next year’s celebrations.
The organisers say it will be one of the “biggest and boldest shows to ever hit Hamilton” with acts including all-time favourites and new Waikato performers as well as a curated selection of compelling shows from across the country and even abroad.
Festival director Geoff Turkington says the 2023 programme was “a joyous fusion” of new works and “some of the most eagerly awaited shows” from this year’s Covid-19 thwarted programme.
“It’s all about celebrating human connection and what makes being Kiwi so special,” says Turkington.
Opening the festival on February 23 at the Hamilton Gardens’ Rhododendron Lawn is the concert The Soundtrack from Bazz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge which brings together Milan Borich (Pluto), Lou’ana, Zoe Moon, Sebastian Holland Dudding and opera stars Samson Setu, Taka Vuli, Manase Latu and Ipu Laga’aia for a celebration of one of cinema’s most magical musical creations.
Despite being removed from the festival’s name, the award-winning Hamilton Gardens remain the primary venue.
Other events set in the Hamilton Gardens include the concert Vivaldi by Candlelight which will take place in the Egyptian Garden on March 5 and This Is Kiwi - Indigo Festival, a five-hour “festival within a festival” also on March 5, which brings together over 200 performers representing the many cultures that make up Hamilton Kirikiriroa’s diverse population.
On March 3, the Te Parapara Garden (New Zealand’s only traditional Maori productive garden) will be the stage for Christchurch Ōtautahi-born singer Theia’s critically acclaimed reo rangatira project Te Kaahu.
Lovers of poetry and music will come together in the Mansfield Garden for a special event for the centenary of Katherine Mansfield’s death on February 26. Songwriters including Anna Coddington, Lawrence Arabia and Julia Deans perform original music inspired by Mansfield’s poems.
The Rhododendron Lawn will again be the venue for the annual Sunset Symphony, this year on February 25. For more than 10 years, the free event has brought Hamilton together to celebrate glorious orchestral music, whānau, friends, food and fireworks.
Earlier this month, festival organisers announced the concert The Soundtracks From Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction on March 4, also performed on the Rhododendron lawn, will be part of the 2023 line-up. The concert was part of this year’s programme which was canned due to Covid-19 restrictions.
A special cabaret show will wow the Hamilton Gardens on March 5: After a sell-out season at last year’s Auckland Live Cabaret Festival, Fever: Return of the Ula showcases the savage vogue stomps and luscious sways of Pasifika trans and queer supernovas, with choreography by FAME NZ artist award winner Amanaki Prescott-Faletau.
Another venue is the much-loved Meteor Theatre which will be hosting an eclectic mix of theatre shows including children’s puppet show The Boy With Wings, one-woman play Hanna about motherhood and one-man play Hello Darkness about the meaning of life.
Other festival highlights include the multidisciplinary performance Ngā Tohu O Te Taiao on February 25 and 26 which infuses live sand art, matauranga Māori storytelling and traditional Māori instruments, and the performance Tierra Y Mar Flamenco Project on March 1 where world-class flamenco musicians explore the boundaries of flamenco dance, composition and improvisation.
The Festival Hub is at the heart of the action with free and live entertainment celebrating local artists and musicians, starting at 5pm every night. Thanks to a new partnership with Montana Food & Events, this is also the place to savour the sights and sounds of the festival, relax with a drink and enjoy some incredible locally-produced food.
For the full programme, tickets, dates and details visit the festival’s website.