Events

Opening: 5.30 - 7.30pm

Thursday 14th August 2025

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Exhibition Date: 14th August - 13th September 2025

In Reflex, Sarah Munro invites viewers into a quiet, instinctual space — where watercolor becomes not a tool of control, but a collaborator in uncertainty. These works arise from a process of immediate, unfiltered response: to memory, to mood, to the body’s own rhythm.

Watercolor, with its fluidity and resistance to overworking, mirrors Munro’s interest in what lies beneath conscious thought. Each brushstroke is a reflex — quick, unrehearsed, and honest. Color seeps, bleeds, and settles in ways that cannot be entirely predicted, revealing the tension between surrender and intention that defines her practice.

Rather than plan or perfect, Munro listens. She listens to the way water moves, how pigment pools or vanishes, how gesture meets gravity. The result is work that feels ephemeral yet grounded—at once fleeting and deeply rooted in presence.

Reflex is not a narrative. It is an impulse. A visual record of the moment before interpretation, before language. In this body of work, Munro explores what happens when we trust the immediacy of the hand, the weight of the brush, and the quiet logic of the unconscious.

Han Chao - Hanrad Gallery

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Artist Statement:

I am a studio-based painter in Hamilton, New Zealand and an academic specialising in creative practice research in painting and embodied cognition. I have exhibited in New York, Italy and France. Since 2018, I have taught art theory and supervised Honors and Masters-level creative practice research at Waikato Institute of Technology. My doctoral studies explored how painting activates embodied cognition and I am committed to developing this research in both my painting practice and teaching.

 Sarah Mitchell Munro

TUESDAY QUIZ NIGHTS AT IGUANA!

From 7pm on Tuesday, 19th August, Iguana's Garden Bar will be transforming into QUIZ NIGHT – EVERY TUESDAY!

Hosts Albie and Eddie @quiznzuk will be bringing the laughs, the challenges and trivia for what's guaranteed to be a fantastic night.

Book by calling 07 834 2280 or email info@iguana.co.nz

Max 8 players per team

7pm start

Cash prizes for 1st and 2nd

Full food and bar service (including daily deals!)

Get your team together and come and join the fun!

Mark your calendar—Hamilton Central is the place to be this September!

Bringing in Father’s Day the Latin way at Patrons!

We’re bringing the heat with a Latin Party you won’t want to miss. Kick things off with a FREE Bachata dance class (7PM – 9PM), then keep the energy flowing as DJ Yhans takes over the decks from 9PM till late.

Thrifty Threads is back for 2025!

Hamilton City Council is partnering with Hospice Waikato to reduce the clothing sent to landfill with a pop-up op-shop experience at The Meteor.

Simply pay the entry fee at the door (cash or Eftpos), bring your bags and find some pre-loved gems.

Thurs 11 September 4pm-8pm
Fri 12 September 10am-8pm
Sat 13 September 10am-2pm

Cost:

• $20 per person
• $10 with a valid student ID

All door sale proceeds go back to Hospice Waikato.

As well as our usual clothing sale, this year we’re excited to be working with Serving Up T, Sip&Sew and Hamilton City Libraries to offer extra events and workshops to expand the Thrifty Threads kaupapa.

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Improv Combat returns for 2025 with more improvised comedy, but this time, the joke’s on you!

Across each performance in this four-show season, a rotating cast of Hamilton’s finest improvisers in makeshift teams will battle against each other to win the favour (and the laughs) of their audience in a refreshing new game show format. Teams will enter each performance completely unaware of what games they will be playing, what scenes they will create, and what challenges host Conor Maxwell will force them to complete. These improvisers are here to bring this jokes, but this time, the jokes may very well be on them!

Improv Combat: Jokes on You! will take to the stage in the Meteor theatre’s Massé Lounge and Nancy Caiger Gallery on four fortnightly Sundays from the 12th of September, so come along and see Hamilton improv at its most spontaneous. Remember, with improv comedy, each show and each scene within it will be uniquely driven by suggestions from the audience. The fate of these performers is in your hands…

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June Ma is a Chinese original from Hong Kong China, and who immigrated to New Zealand 36 years ago. She has one daughter who is married with two young kids. They live in Hamilton close by. Ma studied three years of arts in the late 1990s in New Zealand. At Waiariki Polytechnics in Rotorua, and then 2nd and the 3rd year was in Soulthland Polytechnic in Invercargill. She discovered she had a talent creating arts when she started her art study, and she enjoyed a variety of media. When Ma was a child, due to the circumstances at that time, she had very little time or art classes available . She started work when she was 12 and also attended night school which didn’t have any arts subjects. Ma is thankful New Zealand has given her this opportunity to attend art studies, and that she discovered art and creativity within her.

Art Diorama is a local amateur artist originally from the UK. They create abstract art for fun. Their art is essentially elaborate doodles. Doodling is their mindfulness practice. It focusses and quietens their brain. They doodle with no set plan and draw whatever comes to mind. Each picture is an original with no copies. Friends and colleagues have told them they like their works, so they have decided to take a risk and display them. They hope you enjoy the exhibition.

The Nancy Caiger Gallery is open 11am-2pm from Wednesday to Saturday. If you’d like to visit this exhibition outside of these opening hours, please email kiaora@themeteor.co.nz

You are invited to the Vetro Spring Festival!

The festival will be held on Rostrevor Street in and around Vetro Mediterranean!

Join us for a few hours of entertainment, delicious food,instore tastings at Vetro and go in the draw to win a Weber BBQ.

Brought to you by Vetro Mediterranean
Supported by Love the Centre & Connect Hamilton

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Experience L. Frank Baum’s 13th Oz novel, ‘The Magic of Oz’, on stage! Watch, as Kiki the munchkin child, teams up with Ruggedo the Nome ruler to conquer the world of Oz, and take over the Emerald City. Follow along the journey of Trot, Cap’n Bill, and the Glass Cat, as they search for a birthday gift for Ozma. From familiar characters like Dorothy, The Wizard, and Toto, to new friends you might not have heard of, like Scraps the Patchwork Kid, and Gugu the Leopard King, the stage will be filled with fun.

The students of Wing Valley Youth Theatre Programme bring the characters and the stage to life! You won’t want to miss Oz like you’ve never seen it before.

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Celebrate Melbourne Cup in style, on Tuesday the 4th of November from 2pm-4pm at Keystone’s Melbourne Cup Bottomless Lunch.

Indulge in a four-course menu specially curated by award-winning chef Andrew Clarke - paired with Keystone’s extensive range of bottomless drinks - all for just $89 per person.

Melbourne Cup attire is encouraged, so dress to impress, because we will have plenty of spot prizes to be awarded on the day! Tables will be limited! Book now to secure your spot!

BOOK BY EMAILING ->> info@keystonebar.co.nz

The Ultimate Wine & Dine Experience!

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Embark on an unforgettable culinary journey through multiple venues, delighting in delectable dishes and crafted drinks at every stop. Join us for an evening where every bite tells a story!

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This isn't just a dinner it's an adventure to discover your new favourite dining destinations. Half the thrill is in the mystery where you won't discover which outstanding eateries you'll be experiencing until the evening unfolds before you.

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Date 13 November

Time 6pm

Tickets $180pp

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Tickets are limited – secure yours now for this one of a kind mystery dining tour led by Julia Clarke from Dine with Jules!

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For ticket enquiries email withjulsnz@gmail.com

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Celebrating 80 Years Running! Eight decades of community spirit, the iconic course, and shared memories!

Don’t miss your chance to be part of history.

‍Register Now

Every year thousands of runners and walkers descend upon Hamilton City Centre for one of NZ's oldest and most beloved annually contested events, Lugton's Round the Bridges!

Established in 1945 by the Hamilton Harrier Club (now known as Hamilton City Hawks), Lugton's Round the Bridges started out as a road race designed to showcase some of NZ's top athletes, with past participants having included Barry Magee, Peter Snell and Dick Quax. Given its popularity, the event grew from strength to strength, eventually becoming the fantastic community event you see today!

Nowadays the event welcomes people of all shapes and sizes, from primary school students right through to running legends. With finisher's medals for every participant, on-course musical entertainment and thousands of fun-loving runners and walkers, Lugton's Round The Bridges offers an awesome day out which the entire family can enjoy.

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