Programme of Events
2018 Events: Friday 11 - Sunday 13 May
We're happy to announce our fourth annual Featherston Booktown festival. A fabulous programme of events has come together, thanks to booksellers, writers, craftspeople and our community, to offer you the best experience of Featherston and books!
If you'd like to keep up to date as things unfold, check back here periodically or, for up-to-the-minute info, like and follow us on our Facebook page: featherstonbooktown
-
Booksellers @ Booktown, 10am – 4pm both days
-
Visiting booksellers are located at the ANZAC Hall, 62, Bell St (see map)
Fish'n' Chip Supper
Come along and enjoy succulent fish and chips (courtesy of celebrity chef Dale Keith). Mix and mingle with booksellers, and then hear the after-dinner speech by acclaimed writer and reviewer, Kate De Goldi. Kate writes fiction for all ages. She has been a recipient of The Michael King Fellowship and has won the New Zealand Post Children’s Book of the Year twice. Her most recent novel, From the Cutting Room of Barney Kettle, won the Esther Glen Medal at the 2016 NZ Children’s Book Awards. Kate reviews books in print and broadcast media and teaches creative writing at schools throughout New Zealand. She is co-editor, with Susan Paris, of ANNUAL and ANNUAL 2, miscellanies for 9-13 year olds.
We also have the enormous pleasure of hosting Joy Cowley, ONZ, DCNZM, Patron of Featherston Booktown.
When: Friday 11 May 2018, 6.30-10.30pm
Where: Rose & Smith, Tauherenikau Racecourse
Entry: $45 Tickets available on Eventfinda. Cash bar available. A bus service will run from Featherston to Tauherenikau Racecourse
Victor Rodger: A Voyage Around My Father
Victor Rodger is a playwright and scriptwriter of Samoan and Pakeha heritage whose theatre work deals with race, racism and identity.
His first play, Sons, premiered at the The Court in 1995. He continues to produce plays that explore and challenge racial and cultural stereotypes, and that are grounded by vivid characterisation and complex character relationships.
Victor has received numerous awards in recognition of his theatre work and was granted the 2006 Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writers’ Residency at the University of Hawai’i.
In this absorbing session, Victor will explore his relationship with his father and how that has influenced his work. He’ll also read from his memorable piece, Finally This is Closure.
When: Saturday 12 May 2018, 3.00pm – 4.00pm
Where: Brac & Bow
Entry: Koha
A Lifetime of Words: A session with Vincent O’Sullivan
Come and experience a once-in-a-lifetime event – the pre-eminent scholar and distinguished novelist, playwright, short story writer, poet, biographer and librettist Vincent O’Sullivan reading from his extraordinary body of literary work. His writing is wry, erudite and generous, informed by a childhood spent in suburban Auckland and a deep interest in the multiplicity of humanity.
A graduate of the Universities of Auckland and Oxford, O’Sullivan has also made an outstanding contribution to NZ literary scholarship, illuminating the work of John Mulgan and James K. Baxter, and co-editing the five-volume edition Katherine Mansfield’s Collected Letters and the two-volume Complete Fiction.
Away from the academy, he served as the Books’ Editor for the New Zealand Listener where he was also a trusted critic. He has been fêted often, including with a Prime Minister’s Literary Award (2005) and a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (2000), and has won the NZ Book Awards, in its various forms, three times for fiction and thrice for poetry. This event is proudly supported by Messines Bookshop
When: Saturday 1.00pm – 2.00pm
Where: The Dining Room at The Royal Hotel, 22 Revans Street
Entry: Koha
Chris Tse: Snakes and Masculinity – Giving Voice to the Past and Present
Chris Tse was born and raised in Lower Hutt. He studied film and English literature at Victoria University of Wellington, where he also completed an MA in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters.
His poetry, short fiction, and non-fiction have been recorded for radio and widely published in numerous journals, magazines and anthologies, including Best New Zealand Poems, Sport, Turbine, The New Zealand Listener, Fishhead, Landfall, Cha, Poetry NZ, Takahe, JAAM, Snorkel, Rejectamenta, Sweet Mammalian, Glitterwolf, Starch, Cordite Poetry Review, Ika, and Cyphers. He is one of three poets included in the joint collection AUP New Poets 4 (Auckland University Press, 2011). Chris’ first full-length poetry collection, How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes, was published by Auckland University Press in September 2014. In 2016, Snakes received the Jessie Mackay Award for Best First Book of Poetry and was a finalist in the poetry category at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Chris is also an official festival blogger for the Visa Wellington on a Plate food festival.
As well as writing, he is also an occasional actor and has appeared in plays at BATS Theatre and the Gryphon Theatre. He tweets as @chrisjtse.
A compelling speaker and performer, Chris will read poems from How to be Dead in a Year of Snakes and his latest book, He’s So MASC – described by a reviewer as “. . .a real jewel box of sparkling verse.”
When: Sunday 12.00pm – 1.00pm
Where: The Dining Room at The Royal Hotel, 22 Revans Street
Entry: Koha
Gerald Hensley CNZM: Distinguished Diplomat, Mandarin and Author: Presidents & Prime Ministers I Have Known - Interviewed by John Campbell
South Wairarapa resident, Gerald Hensley, is one of New Zealand’s most distinguished public servants. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1958 and served in Samoa, at the United Nations, the Commonwealth Secretariat and Washington DC, and in 1976 was High Commissioner in Singapore. In 1980 he became Head of the Prime Minister's Department where he served under both the Muldoon and Lange governments. He subsequently served as Coordinator of Domestic and External Security and as Secretary of Defence. After retirement in 1999, he published three books on New Zealand's diplomatic history, including 'Final Approaches', a volume of memoirs. He now grows wine in Martinborough.
In conversation with John Campbell, Gerald will describe fascinating encounters with world leaders and explore memories of the personalities of former New Zealand Prime Ministers.
This event is proudly supported by Mary and Peter Biggs, CNZM
When: Saturday 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Where: RSA Hall, Fox Street
Entry: $19.90 Tickets available on Eventfinda. Limited numbers.
Book Launch: Dan Davin – A Field Officer’s Notebook; (Cold Hub Press)
The selected poems of Dan Davin, edited with an introductory essay by Robert McLean
Introductions by Roger Hickin, Cold Hub Press.
Informal discussion and selected poems from the book read by Vincent O’ Sullivan, alongside Robert McLean and Roger Hickin. Includes a Q&A session.
The poetry of Dan Davin speaks unguardedly and disarmingly about one man’s life, his loves and losses, in a voice that haunts long after it has been heard. Cold Hub Press is privileged to have the opportunity to make this body of work available to general readers for the first time.
"Dan Davin (1913–1990), best known for his prose fiction, memoirs, and work in academic publishing, also wrote poetry. The poems written during his time as an intelligence officer with the 2nd New Zealand Division are unlike anything in New Zealand literature and stand comparison with the finest poetry to have come out of the Second World War. Indeed, some are among the finest poems written by any New Zealander during the 1940s and deserve to be read in such a light. Many of the poems of Davin’s “late period” revisit the battlefields he’d fought in forty years before. Some revisit the days of his youth in Invercargill and Dunedin, while others explore his Irishness and record with heavy heart but light touch the “fighting withdrawal” of his final years. Almost all are taken from notebooks and manuscripts deeply scored by Davin’s emending pen. This event is proudly supported by Messines Bookshop
When: Saturday 11.00am – 12.00pm
Where: RSA Hall, Fox Street,
Entry: Koha
Chris Pugsley: Camera In The Crowd
“This is the book that I've hoped someone would write.” — Sir Peter Jackson
Film captivated New Zealand when it reached the country in 1895. Leading military historian and compelling speaker, Christopher Pugsley's new book, The Camera in the Crowd, explores film's early days in New Zealand, from its introduction in the late 1800s, to the role it played in WW1.
His session will bring to life those exhilarating 25 years of filming and picture screening that followed, telling the story through the footage that survives in the archive of Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, the national film archives.
When: Saturday 1.00pm – 2.00pm
Where: RSA Hall, Fox Street,
Entry: Koha
True Stories (Told Live) compered by John Campbell.
Intimate. Real. Anything goes! The New Zealand Book Council’s True Stories Told Live events have been exhilarating and entertaining audiences at sell-out events for the past six years.
Writers, artists, musicians, actors, politicians and more come together to entertain audiences with surprising, dramatic, funny, frightening and moving true stories. Our invited storytellers have eight minutes each to speak on a theme. No notes. No audio-visual equipment. No props. No questions. Just true stories that promise to inspire, entrance, and entertain. This is storytelling at its unabashed best!
Come and be entertained and enthralled by six of New Zealand’s top writers as they explore the theme of “transformation” in their own unique way.
True Stories are intense, raw and original filled with plot, pace, adventure and humour.
-
Catherine Robertson - best-selling novelist, reviewer and commentator
-
Tom Scott - satirist, cartoonist, playwright, author
-
Emily Writes - popular writer, reviewer and blogger
-
Chris Tse - poet, blogger, actor
-
Victor Rodger - playwright, provocateur, actor
-
Paul Adamson - writer, hunter, fisher, teacher
This event is proudly supported by the New Zealand Book Council
When: Saturday 6.30pm – 9.30pm
Where: The Dining Room at The Royal Hotel, 22 Revans Street
Entry: $19.90: Tickets available on Eventfinda. (Complimentary platter food and a cash bar)
Harry Ricketts – Making Words Work: Poetry & Creative Non-fiction
Harry Ricketts teaches English literature and creative writing at Victoria University of Wellington. His publications include eleven collections of poems (most recently Winter Eyes, Victoria University Press, 2018), two literary biographies and a number of personal essays.
Come and try your hand or hone your skills in one or both modes of writing. Participants are encouraged to bring one piece of their work with them, either a poem or a short piece of non-fiction. Maximum length: one-side only.
The workshop will include writing on the spot and discussion. Bring pen and paper!
When: Saturday 12.00 – 1.00pm
Where: The Dining Room at The Royal Hotel, 22 Revans Street
Entry: Koha
Gareth Ward - The Mind Magic of Magus Noir
Gareth Ward presents an interactive presentation of magic, mentalism and hypnotism as used by Magus Noir, the sinister magician in his award-winning novel The Traitor and the Thief.
Gareth will demonstrate how many of the magic effects in the story are firmly based in reality.
A rip-roaring young adult Steampunk adventure, The Traitor and the Thief won the 2016 Storylines Tessa Duder Award.
When: Saturday 2.00pm – 3.00pm
Where: The Dining Room at The Royal Hotel, 22 Revans Street
Entry: Koha
Te Kahu Rolleston, Poet – Workshop – “Behold My Cool Style”
Fun, inspiring and energetic, Te Kahu Rolleston is a previous winner of the national poetry championship. He creates poetry that links people and people to places. He focuses on breaking down the misconception of poetry – often turning schoolwork into poetry in order to make it easier for kids to learn - and developing informative poetry resources.
Te Kahu’s workshops for young people/rangatahi are incredibly popular, changing perceptions of the written word and what poetry is all about, and inspiring attendees to express poetry in their own way.
Te Kahu has published in Puna Wai Kōrero: An Anthology of Māori Poetry in English from Auckland University Press. This is a wonderful opportunity to listen to, and to work with, an exceptionally talented literary professional.
The workshop will be centred around understanding that the writing skills used in poetry can also translate to things that people think are cool - song lyric writing, script writing for movies and stand-up comedy.
During the workshop with Te Kahu, you will explore different language features to create your poems.
Expect a workshop filled with laughs, good times and inspiration.
When: Saturday 12pm-1pm & 2pm-3pm
Where: Supper Room, ANZAC Hall Complex, 62 Bell Street
Entry: Koha
Lydia Wevers – Mary Scott: The Rural Romantic
In the 1960s, New Zealand's best-known writer internationally was not Frank Sargeson nor Janet Frame but a writer of what is known in Australia as “RuRo” (rural romance). Her name was Mary Scott. Mary Scott's phenomenally successful novels about life on a farm in the backblocks are not only funny and touching to read, they tell you a lot about what we think of as a kiwi lifestyle and kiwi values. This captivating talk will tell you about Susan and Larry in Breakfast at Six and Dinner Doesn't Matter, and the things we love about country life. It is no accident that “Country Calendar” remains one of our most popular TV shows and that Fred Dagg can still be glimpsed on the streets of country towns.
South Wairarapa resident, Lydia Wevers ONZM, is a literary critic and historian, as well as an editor and reviewer. Her area of scholarship is New Zealand and Australian literature, and several of her books have focused on early New Zealand travel writing and writers. She has also edited a huge range of literary anthologies, including, Goodbye to Romance: Stories by Australian and New Zealand Women 1930s –1980s. Lydia Wevers is a great supporter of New Zealand letters and her involvement with literary organizations and groups is considerable. Her book, Reading on the Farm, which utilises the Victorian library on Brancepeth Station in the Wairarapa, its staff, and its customers as a means to reflect upon the significance of books, reading, and intellectual life in colonial New Zealand, was published to great acclaim in 2010. Lydia Wevers retired last year after 17 years as Director of Victoria University's Stout Research Centre in Wellington.
When: Saturday 11.00am – 12.00pm
Where: The Dining Room at The Royal Hotel, 22 Revans Street, Featherston
Entry: Koha
Featherston Library – CodeCups and Hot Chocolate
We know kids are creative, love a challenge and are partial to secret codes. We have put together a fun activity that combines all three. Come along and put your favourite book on a takeaway cup: make it coded, a puzzle, a symbol that needs solving. How could you design your cup, so it gives a “clue”, a hint to help us guess? Will our code-breaking, book-loving librarians be able to guess your favourite book? Start thinking about your book now; ideas are sure to flow. We will provide a takeaway cup and an array of craft materials; you may want to bring in some bits and bobs from home.
Oh and we will provide a yummy hot-chocolate and some CodeCups for you to “crack”.
When: Saturday 11.00am – 1.00pm
Where: Featherston Library, 70-72 Fitzherbert Street
Entry: Koha
Spies Publishing - “Create Your Book” Workshop
A fun workshop for children of all ages where participants will write and illustrate their own story, which is bound together into their very own book to take home and show their friends and family.
Spies will help you create your own book, so you can take it home with you. All you need to bring along is your ideas and imagination. There will also be help on themes if you need one for your amazing story.
"At last, children's books actually written by a child"
When: Saturday 1.00pm – 2.00pm
Where: Supper Room, ANZAC Hall Complex, 62 Bell Street
Entry: Koha
Book Collecting in the Digital Age: Tips & Tricks and Antique Book Valuations - Associate Professor John Arnold
Tips and Tricks: Professor John Arnold, Australian bookseller and a registered valuer, will cover the question of what distinguishes a book collector from a book buyer or accumulator, the difference between the antiquarian and second hand books, what determines their price, how to start and build up an author or subject-based book collection, where to source wanted titles, and the tips and tricks of buying books sight unseen off the net.
When: Saturday 11.00am – 12.00pm
Where: Supper Room, ANZAC Hall complex, 62 Bell Street
Entry: Koha
Antique Book Valuations: Ever wondered what the old book/s you have in the cupboard may be worth? Is it a first edition or just a common reprint? Maybe you have a copy signed by the author. Bring it and others along to have them valued by John Arnold.
When: Sunday 10.00am – 11.00am
Where: Kiwi Hall, ANZAC Hall complex, 62 Bell St
Entry: Kota
Michelle O’Connell: Teddy Bear adventure drawing workshop
Wairarapa author and illustrator Michelle O'Connell will share her book about teddy bears followed by an art workshop where you can learn to draw your favourite teddy bear.
The focus is on drawing but then Michelle will talk briefly and read. Then you’ll go through the steps for drawing. After the drawing demonstration, there will be Q & A time.
Take home a special piece of art you have created and feel creative and valued from this fun workshop.
Please bring a teddy bear.
When: Saturday 3.00pm – 4.00pm
Where: Supper Room, ANZAC Hall Complex, 62 Bell Street
Entry: Koha
NZ Poetry - Set To Music – Ice & the Frozen North / South
This year, the programme will offer a selection of Bill Manhire’s poems set as songs that speak to ice and the frozen north/south. The themes and inspirations will be drawn from the albums Antarctica ('These Rough Notes') and a new album in progress that centres on themes from Nordic mythology and the frozen north (to be released as Bifrost [after the rainbow bridge that link the earth and the homeland of the gods, and that is celebrated in the Ragnorak]).
Composer and pianist, Norman Meehan, and vocalist, Hannah Griffin, have been collaborating for more than ten years, performing poetry as song. That collaboration has seen them work extensively with New Zealand’s inaugural Poet Laureate, Bill Manhire. This year they will be joined by violinist, Martin Riseley.
When: Sunday 1.00pm - 2.00pm
Where: St. Andrew’s Union Church, 64 Fox Street
Entry: Koha
Paul Adamson – Springboard Into The Outdoors
What is out there? How can I get started? Where can I go? Why are there rules, regulations and laws around hunting and fishing? The balance between ethical considerations, safety and just plain having fun needs to be considered in New Zealand.
This session provides a straight-forward, easy to understand journey through each chapter and briefly examines the steps in writing such a book.
This is a fantastic workshop for exploring your mind as well as the outdoors.
When: Sunday 11.00am – 12.00pm
Where: The Dining Room at The Royal Hotel, 22 Revans Street
Entry: Koha
Linda Hansen, Young Adult Author, shares secrets from her book, An Unexpected Hero, in a special workshop
Just how did the city boy, Matt, overcome his terror of making a speech and go on to ‘wow’ his rural audience with this story of a Kiwi wartime hero?
In a one-hour workshop for young people packed with props and curious practices, author Linda Hansen shares the secret speaking skills that Nan revealed to Matt, her grandson. By the end of the session, you’ll also be able to craft, remember and tell a story, bring new ease and confidence to your public speaking skills and hold your audience.
Bring only pen and paper, and think about a short myth, legend or fable that you know well. YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO TELL IT! Ideal for school students in years 7-8 onwards.
When: Sunday 11.00am – 12.00pm and 1.00pm – 2.00pm
Where: Supper Room, ANZAC Hall Complex, 62 Bell Street
Entry: Koha. Bookings essential. Please book on Eventfinda. Max 25 per session.
Ali Foster: Book Launch Exclusive !
Wairarapa children’s author, Ali Foster, releases Book 2 of the Ginomees middle grade, fantasy trilogy, ‘The Clonestone.’
‘The one who turns from wood to bone and then in turn from bone to stone must face the giants all alone.’
With the words of Olive the Oracle ringing in his ears, Noname sets out to recover The Clonestone, before The Cheating Giants can use it to create a monster even more terrifying than the Ginogle.
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Come and meet everyone’s hero, Noname the Nothing and create your own delightfully healthy ginomee-sized treat.
When: Sunday 12.00pm - 1.00pm
Where: Supper Room, ANZAC Hall Complex, 62 Bell Street
Entry: Koha
Susan Wildblood – Monster Hunts
An illustrative monster workshop and hunt! Come and listen, learn and create your own monster report!
Follow the Monsterologist and learn about 100 monsters.
Do monsters really exist? We’ve all heard stories, but are they just that, stories? What truth is there behind the tales?
Find out what is living under the bed
See who is hiding in the shadows
and discover where that awful smell is coming from
"My home had been taken over by MONSTERS! What a MESS! I had a monster in the birthday cake, another swinging on the chandelier, the bathroom had been flooded and a huge crash could be heard from one of the bedrooms upstairs.
This was serious! It seemed I had an infestation!!"
All ages and family members welcome. Drawing materials provided.
When: Sunday 10.00am – 11.00am
Where: Supper Room, ANZAC Hall Complex, 62 Bell Street
Entry: Koha
Joy Cowley : Reading for children
Booktown’s very own Patron and well-known local author Joy Cowley will be reading for all to enjoy. Readings will include the classic tale Snake and Lizard which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Come along and be charmed! All ages. Book signing and conversation after reading.
When: Sunday, 1.00pm-2.00pm
Where: The Royal Hotel, 22 Revans Street
Entry: Koha
Paper-making with Rob Kennedy
Papermaking using native plants moves from conservation to creative endeavour with a fair degree of problem solving along the way. Initially, the motivation was to generate an income stream from harakeke (NZ native flax) for conservation projects. Now the challenge of turning plant mass into paper has matured into a passion for using basic chemistry and simple technology to provide a timeless medium for creative self-expression.
Rob returns for another year to offer the opportunity for anyone to drop in and experience paper making. For those who want to take paper away with them, there will be a range of products in the pop-up shop and for the most adventurous there are daily one hour workshops where participants can try their hand at paper making and receive the products of their labours.
When: Saturday & Sunday: 10am-12pm drop in, 1-2pm workshops, 2pm-3pm drop in
Where: St Teresa’s School, 63 Bell St
Entry: Koha for drop in, $20 for workshops (please pay as you arrive)
The Magic Little Shed
“It’s long gone 3pm and several flagging schoolkids are meandering their way home along a semi-industrial street in the Wellington suburb of Newtown – a prosaic journey punctuated by a burst of joyful whimsy. Nestled in a row of five gritty garages is Norac Salad, New Zealand’s only dedicated origami bookshop and studio,” North and South July 2016.
Yup that’s Caron Dallas (Norac Salad is her name backwards). Caron spends her days in that garage making art using “rescue” books by folding the pages, no cutting involved at all. No books are harmed in the process. Caron makes books to order including names, numbers or special shapes as well as exhibiting the works along with fellow artist Meg Prebble. These two extraordinary artists met at Booktown 2016, had an exhibition at the end of 2016, have another one coming up in a pop-up space in Newtown, and are working on having their biggest one yet in Pataka, Porirura.
Caron will be doing one-on-one sessions throughout the days of Booktown, so if you’d like to learn a little of the “magic” bring an old book or two along and she’ll happily teach you. www.noracsalad.felt.co.nz www.facebook.com/noracsalad
When: Saturday & Sunday 10am-4pm
Where: St Teresa’s School, 63 Bell St
Entry: Koha
Paper marbling with Meg Prebble
Marbling is the art of creating beautiful patterns and pictures by swirling paint on the surface of liquid and transferring the result to paper. It is a fascinating craft with a long history which winds through the publishing houses of medieval Europe. Meg uses modern materials and old techniques to create her vibrant pieces, and she’s delighted to return to Featherston Booktown to demonstrate her techniques and give people a chance to try the art for themselves. www.facebook.com/dorapapers
When: Saturday & Sunday,10am-4pm, sessions 30-50mins, or drop in to watch!
Where: St Teresa’s School, 63 Bell St
Entry: Koha
Bookbinding, practical workshop with Robyn Ramsden
Athena Bookbinding’s Robyn Ramsden’s workshops have proved extremely successful in the last two years. This year she is offering a tutorial on making a 4th Century (Nag Hammandi) style book. All materials and tools provided. Consumables cost $20 per book. You can keep the instructions so you can make more on your own. Robyn’s been bookbinding as a hobby since 2005 and started making books for sale in 2012. She makes two styles of books, the early medieval Nag Hammandi style and the Incunabula style which are modeled on early printed books. She makes books to order through felt.co.nz
When: Saturday, 10am–12.30pm
Where: St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School, 63 Bell St
Entry: Maximum 10 people, book on Eventfinda, or at C’est Cheese, Fitzherbert St. $20 to cover materials.
Memories for the future
(The Featherston Poppy Places project)
These days, looking into ancestry is all the rage, with an interest in who people are related to being more popular than ever. But what about where people come from and the incredible and often unrecognised history surrounding the ground beneath our feet. Students of Featherston and St Teresa’s schools have been thinking about just that, researching the stories behind Featherston to help recognise and commemorate the unique military history of the area.
Why was the ANZAC hall built? What’s the significance of Camp Road, Soldiers Settlement Road or Messines Way?
The Community Board and Featherston Memorial RSA have come together to create a unique Poppy Trail that highlights points significant in the military history of Featherston. We are delighted to be able to share the stories behind the poppy through the eyes of our local children and the televised interviews with prominent Featherstonians sharing their insights into living in Featherston during WWII.
These stories and interviews can be seen at the Featherston Heritage Museum where you can also see the wide range of displays showing the incredible heritage of an area of vital importance in history of New Zealand for the duration of the Booktown event.
Share our journey.
To find out more visit: https://www.facebook.com/Featherston-Poppy-Places
When: Saturday & Sunday 10.00am – 4.00pm
Where: The Featherston Heritage Museum
Entry: A small donation would be appreciated to support the continued upkeep of the museum and effects. Museum is open Saturday and Sunday
Playshop Fairy Tales
PlayShop is a Wellington-based performance company that creates spontaneous, thrilling theatre. They create opportunities for people to experience the joy of playful interaction through theatre, storytelling, education, and improvisation. They are risk-takers, open to the potential of every moment, so that the actor and audience share meaningful stories that arise from the present, and stay in memory for time to come. Led by Artistic Director Lori Leigh, PlayShop is characterised by intelligence, energy, solid stagecraft, theatricality, and emotional honesty. They believe the skills and philosophies of performance can be used to create exciting, risky, accessible theatre of all types.
Three of Playshop’s wonderful improvisers are gearing up to play and delight, create and enchant. The stories they will tell, act out (and maybe even sing!) will come from not only their heads and hearts, but also from those sitting right in front of them. These inclusive and interactive tales, created on the spot, derive from fairy tales. Immerse yourself in their made-up worlds; be a part of the story with them, or sit back, enjoy, and get ready to laugh. During their shows you will never see the same story twice!
When: Saturday, 2pm, Sunday 11am & 2pm
Where: Country Tea & Cakes, Kiwi Hall, ANZAC Hall Comlex, 62 Bell St
Entry: Koha (also why not buy a cup of tea or coffee and a cake to support Booktown while you enjoy the show?)
Railway Book Display - The Fell Locomotive Museum
The Fell Locomotive Museum will be putting on a display of railway books for this year’s Booktown,
Some of these books will also be available for you to purchase.
The display will be in the Museum’s tea room and entry will be through a fire door of the Museum.
When: Saturday & Sunday all day
Where: The Fell Engine Museum, Corner State Highway 2 and Lyon Street
Entry: Normal Museum Entry fee applies
Featherston Art Sale 2018
Our third annual exhibition and art sale features established and emerging artists associated with the Wairarapa.
The show starts off with a gala opening on Thursday evening and then continues through the weekend.
It is a cash and carry sale so come early to view or buy.
When: Opening night Thursday 6 pm - late.
Friday & Saturday 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday 10 am - 3 pm
Where: Featherston Community Centre, 14 Wakefield St, Featherston
Entry: Free
Website: http://featherstoncommunity.org.nz/