High street to the hills, issue 25

6 to 28 June, Blue Pacific Gallery, Pataka Museum of Arts & Cultures, Porirua City

Light and the shapes, colours and natural patterns in Aotearoa’s landscape form the crux of a diverse selection of works by Golden Bay ceramicist Paul Winspear and his daughter, Wellington painter Ellen Coup. Paul says capturing and replicating the vibrancy of the New Zealand light in his glazes is his challenge. Patterns made by strong winds in the sand at Wharariki Beach have been one source of inspiration. Ellen’s oil paintings run the gamut of landscape interpretations from 360? views to the traditionally structured and the surreal.

Phone (04) 237 1511, www.pataka.org.nz

6 to 7 June, Naseby, Central Otago

A weekend of spirited sporting action with a great dollop of fun – whether scooting around the ice or just watching. This 40m man-made ice rink is the only one of its kind in the country and the Mixed Fours is part of an exciting competition schedule staged during the curling season in the small alpine village. While the country’s top players will be part of the contest (watch out for their stylish “slide curling” techniques), it is also an opportunity for locals and visitors to engage in some up-tempo action.

Phone (03) 444 9878, www.curling.co.nz

29 May to 21 June, Auckland

In just five years this celebration of Auckland’s abundant photographic talent has morphed into the largest public photographic visual arts event in New Zealand. Pegged to a framework of culture, identity, participation and art, the festival unfolds in the city’s major galleries, project spaces and public sites. Big names on show include Edith Amituanai, Ann Shelton, Mark Adams, Robin Morrison, Neil Pardington and Patrick Reynolds but there is also a line-up of works by emerging photographers.

Phone (09) 307 7055, www.photographyfestival.org.nz

11 June to 11 July, SKYCITY Theatre, Auckland

With a Lonely Planet guide in one hand and an Italian phrase book in another, recently retired librarians Adrian and Alison feel prepared to face the excitement of la bella Italia. But, when their best friends suddenly drop out of the trip, are they ready to share their precious holiday with their new neighbours? From bingeing and budgeting to Michelangelo and la dolce vita, this is one journey they’ll never forget. Kiwi gems Stuart Devine, George Henare and Annie Whittle deliver this sparkling Roger Hall comedy.

Phone (09) 309 0390, www.atc.co.nz

23 May to 7 June, Aigantighe Art Gallery, Timaru

Now in its 32nd year, this South Canterbury art exhibition has a sell-out opening night and draws big crowds. This year’s featured artist is New Zealand landscape painter Austen Deans who will show alongside other noted artists such as Ben Woollcombe, Marian Maguire and Diana Adams and glass artists Gary Nash and Karen Ellett. A total of 77 works includes prints, mixed media art, sculpture, ceramics and jewellery.

Phone (03) 688 4424, www.artists.co.nz/aigant.html

17 to 19 July, SKYCITY Convention Centre, Auckland

This is the only national jewellery exhibition where the public can meet face to face with designers and buy their wares. Displayed in modish black and white cabinets, the jewellery is the work of New Zealand-based designers only, with contemporary works by tertiary-level jewellery students from around the country. The show has had three successful years in Wellington and this is its first foray into Auckland.

Phone (04) 499 9550, www.jewelleryshow.co.nz

2 to 7 July, TSB Bank Arena, Wellington, then on tour to Christchurch and Auckland

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s spectacular rock musical hits town. Billed as the most successful musical of all time, this futuristic tale of triumph and hope in the face of adversity has been produced in six countries as well as on ice! The curtain first went up on Starlight Express at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre in 1984. Dazzling costumes, daredevil stunts and turbocharged excitement are implicit in this two-hour phenomenon with a serious feel-good factor.

Phone 0800 TICKETEK, www.starlightexpressnz.com

12.30pm, 2 July, Dunedin Public Library, Dunedin

A unique collaboration between the city’s library and its professional theatre, this is a lunch-time appetizer for the Fortune Theatre’s forthcoming production Lucky Numbers. Nana Connie Patterson, teetering on the brink of senility, is forced to move in with her daughter – that’s until her lucky Lotto number comes up and she pockets £8.2 million. The Fortune Theatre cast pops into the library to stage a 20-minute snippet from the show.

Phone (03) 474 3690, www.dunedinlibraries.com

28 June, Civic Theatre, Invercargill, then touring

On oboe, clarinet, horn, flute and bassoon, the principal players with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra merge with one of New Zealand’s most distinguished performing musicians, pianist Deidre Irons. The programme begins with Mozart’s quintet for piano and winds which he wrote in 1784 and described as the best work he’d ever penned. The evening includes a brand-new wind quintet by Kiwi composer Anthony Ritchie.

Phone 0800 CONCERT, www.chambermusic.co.nz

4 July, Coronet Peak, Queenstown

This exhilarating event is part of the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest party, the Queenstown Winter Festival, now in its 35th year. Watch in wonder as competitors take on a fast downhill course, rip off their skis and charge uphill on foot to retrieve hard cash at the finish line. Extraordinary antics are part of the action in the final few metres of the race. You don’t even have to be a skier to enjoy the show – it is staged right in front of Coronet Peak’s Sun Deck.

Phone 0800 FESTIVAL, www.winterfestival.co.nz