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July 10-17

Pop CultureJuly 10, 2025

Event noticeboard: Slow fashion, 15 minutes of fame and a mud hole

July 10-17

The Spinoff’s top picks of events from around the motu.

I was very excited to stumble across The Old Parakao Store’s event up north this Sunday. From the sounds of it, an excellent mud hole has sprung up on their mud drag circuit (a rough, muddy track to zoom 4x4s around on). The challenge is to be able to get your truck out. Their invitation is geared towards 4×4 drivers to come have fun in the mud. They’ve seemingly overlooked the fact that wusses who can’t drive well and have long, low station wagons with little engines would love to watch the spectacle – just like many of us love a comedy show, but only from the stalls. I’m not sure if watching is participating exactly, but it can be important (no comedian thrives in silence) and it’s thrilling!

spotlight

Dance, music, theatre: The Feast

Lyttelton Arts Factory, 1 Sumner Road, Lyttelton
7:30pm Saturday, July 12 and Sunday, July 13
$20-$30

The Lyttelton Arts Festival ends on Sunday, and even if you have already seen a show, you should go kiss it goodbye (for the year). It’s got all the good things on show – music, dance, theatre, comedy and local talent. We know that Lyttelton is a little cauldron of talent and if you’re nearby or able to travel this is an excellent chance to get a sip of it.

The Feast looks especially lavish, because while it’s listed in the dance category it also promises live music from members of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, a narrative played by actors and a lush set with food, candles, flowers and other alluring items of mise-en-scène. The immersive performance is staged as a dreamlike dinner party where a mother-daughter relationship evolves in unexpected ways. It’s got a few heavyweight names behind it, including Fleur de Thier and Renee Ryan.

Te Ika-a-Māui

Parakao

Event: Mud Hole Challenge

The Old Parakao Store Cafe/Bar, 2712 Mangakahia Road, Parakao
12pm Sunday, July 13
Free entry, grab food and drink at the store

Can you drive out of the mud hole? Only 4x4s with knobbly tires and somewhere to attach a tow rope will be allowed to try. The rest of us can watch the carnage.

Whangārei

people shopping secondhand clothes

Market: S L O W Fashion Market turns one

Whangārei Intermediate School, 32 Rust Avenue, Regent, Whangārei
10am Sunday, July 13
🎟️ Gold Coin Entry

“A birthday market to celebrate a year of slow fashion, community connection, and killer curated wardrobes.”

graphic saying sandbox fest

Festival: Sandbox Fandom Festival

Forum North, 7 Rust Avenue, Whangārei 
10am Saturday, July 12
$12

A community run festival to share the love for everything geek art, games, cosplay, animation, comics, music, tech and more!

Tāmaki Makaurau

many frames of close-up faces very dramatic expressions

Exhibition: 15 Minutes of Fame, The Killing

Plomacy, 8 Brown Street, Ponsonby Central
11am – 3pm Fridays to Sundays until August 16
Free

A new film made up of 15 one-minute scenes each directed by a different member of Aotearoa’s coolest collective, The Killing.

fluro crotchet wharenui
Wharenui Harikoa by Lissy & Rudi Robinson-Cole

Experience: Wharenui Harikoa

The Civic, Cnr of Queen Street &, 269-287 Wellesley St West, Auckland CBD
10am – 6pm daily until July 27
Free, book in advance to reserve your spot

Step inside the stunning large-scale crocheted wharenui made by artists Lissy and Rudi Robinson-Cole.

Hamilton

Exhibition: SUSS 4

Artspost, 120 Victoria Street, Hamilton Central
10am – 4:30pm until August 9
Free

Five artists visually explore how societal norms are woven into the fabric of everyday life.

Napier

five people standing on the shore with an island behind them

Theatre: Before We Slip Beneath the Sea

Greenmeadows East Community Hall, Tait Drive, Greenmeadows, Napier
7:30pm Friday, July 11
$35-$40

An award-winning play set in a community facing evacuation die to rising sea levels.

Te Whanganui-a-Tara

Music: Dateline With Elliott Dawson

Parrotdog Bar, 60/66 Kingsford Smith Street, Rongotai, Wellington
8pm Saturday, July 12

Free

“Dateline’s music oozes emotion by blending earnest harmonies that hark back to early 00’s indie pop,” and “Elliott Dawson plays angry art rock”.

group of people with buckets and litter pickers

Volunteering: Community street clean

Te Aro Zero Waste Centre, 2 Forresters Lane Wellington
12 pm Wednesday, July 16
Free. Litter pickers, hand sanitiser and buckets provided

Join the Sustainability Trust for a lunchtime street clean around the waterfront. Wear comfy clothes and shoes, bring a hat and plenty of water.

Te Waipounamu

Blenheim

very old necklance made of some sort of animal tooth
Te Pokohiwi-o-Kupe; Collection of Canterbury Museum

Exhibition: Mauroa

Marlborough Art Gallery, 15 High Street, Blenheim
10am – 4pm Tuesday – Friday, 1pm – 4pm Weekends until August 10
Free

A mixed media exhibition developed by Rangitane o Wairau signifying long-standing presence and enduring commitment.

Ōtautahi

photo of a man gesturing

Comedy: Sanjay Patel, Stupid

Little Andromeda Theatre, Level 1, 134 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch
7pm Friday, July 11
$15-$22

“Don’t search my name online as any other appearances are most likely to be using deepfake technology.”

Ōtepoti

Music: Restless Leg, South by South tour

The Crown Hotel, 179 Rattray Street, Central Dunedin
8pm Saturday, July 12
$10

Sydney band Restless Leg has crafted a unique sound on the continuum of intelligent, jangly, Antipodean guitar pop.

Invercargill

wood block print of a bird

Visual Art: Sanctifying the Fog, Hazel Smith

Whare Taupua, Arts Murihiku, 34 Forth Street, Invercargill
10am – 4pm Tuesday – Friday, 10am – 2pm Saturday until July 25
Free entry

The exhibition uses symbols and the whimsical, elusive nature of the unknown to find a sense of peace.