Stories

Hamilton has a thriving arts scene, and it's just getting better and better all the time.

Opening night for the $80 million Waikato Regional Theatre has been pushed out to next year, about a year later than originally planned, because of a tight market for materials and other factors. However, the budget is still going to script and structural.

Hamilton has a thriving arts scene, and it's just getting better and better all the time.

This is the view of one of those who has been a driving force in local theatre, both on the stage and in the back office.

“Green tights and a big plant outfit” is where it all started for theatre-maker and Clarence St Theatre general manager Shaun Bugden while a student at Hillcrest High School.

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The region’s leaders, canvassed on their key takeaways from 2024, have come up with some remarkably similar conclusions - and some great expectations.

Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate said her main lesson from 2024 was to “to keep the optimism and positivity to get through the tough times ... As a politician it is important to keep a positive lens on whatever it is you are doing.

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There is one thing I can’t forgive myself for after living 13 years as a JAFA - I didn’t know about Waikato River as a tourist destination.

I’d been to Hamilton many times before moving here. On a typical family trip, we would spend a morning at the Gardens and hop to Sichuan Style on Collingwood Street for their spicy fish fillet - a typical itinerary for many Auckland Chinese.

Te Whare Taonga o Waikato Museum and Gallery celebrates its reopening with a jam-packed season ahead of amazing exhibitions and programmes.

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After a six-month closure for extensive renovations, the Museum is ready to welcome visitors to their opening weekend’s ‘housewarming’ celebration to experience the improvements as well as the four new exhibitions alongside established favourites including Exscite.

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Waikato Regional Theatre general manager Gus Sharp says the new deal “puts Hamilton on the map of the Interational touring circuit with a nail, not a thumbtack”.

A non-stop cavalcade of top international talent is now guaranteed for the city with the world’s biggest live entertainment company signing a 15-year lease to run the Waikato Regional Theatre.

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The deal is with Live Nation, which operates top Auckland venue Spark Arena and, among other feats, recently brought Coldplay to New Zealand.

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Hamilton’s civic Christmas tree is the largest of all the four main centres, and on par with them in terms of ratepayer funding.

Of Aotearoa’s four main centres - Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton - the city’s tree stands at a whopping 27m to the tip of its star and is by far the tallest.

Back in 2012, former Hamilton mayor Julie Hardaker was keen to turn the city into New Zealand's Christmas capital, but received a grinch-like response from some locals.

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It’s a chocolate lover’s dream at Theobroma Chocolate Lounge.

Located in the heart of Hamilton’s CBD, the chocolate themed cafe sells creamy Belgian chocolate delights, from gourmet hot chocolates to bite sized chocolate ducks and fish.

Surrounded by sugary delights every day, owner Ian Roberts-Thomson said his favourite part of the job isn’t the chocolate, but the look of delight he sees on customers’ faces.

Their bestseller is a traditional Belgian hot chocolate.

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Whenever a customer spins a yarn about their latest outdoor adventure and they don’t mention their feet, Colin Hancock knows he’s done a good job.

His store Trek ‘n’ Travel - a central Hamilton institution - sells everything outdoorsy, from camping equipment to hiking gear.

But one item is a step ahead of the rest - a good, sturdy pair of hiking boots.

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These are the places where rising stars cut their teeth, members say, but they’re challenged by noise restrictions, alcohol licensing rules and the need to take on multiple tasks outside booking bands.

Prompted by the social and financial challenges of the Covid-19 lockdowns, the Independent Music Venues Association (IMVA) incorporates 29 live music venues in New Zealand and functions as a sort of union.

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The cinema had three band new 35mm Kineton projectors which were the top of the line at the time to deliver the best image possible. The projectors were matched with a state-of-the-art sound and seating and a lovely foyer to match and opened with the film MICHAEL COLLINS starring Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn and Julia Roberts.

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Despite its bar offering and up market decor the cinema struggled and was perhaps ‘before its time’. The cinema changed hands to the RIALTO group before being purchased and refurbished by its previous owner as THE LIDO CINEMA in Dec of 2009.

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The store is manager Sharyn Cawood’s fifth op shop after creating four stores in the past for Hospice Waikato. The Op Shop for Breast Cancer has been running since Covid.

Clinical researcher Jenni Scarlet, (“who we’re doing all of this for,” says Cawood), called Cawood during Covid, and said a new charity store would be helpful for funding clinical trials.

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One of the great benefits of the central city is the vast number of experiences on offer and there is no better one than the annual central city progressive dinner.

This exciting event is the opportunity for the public to enjoy the traditional progressive dinner model with a vibrant and exciting twist in the big city. With five restaurants on offer – each providing a meal course with a matching drink – this is a fantastic way to enjoy some of the central city’s best restaurants all in one evening.

One of the joys in exploring a city is finding spaces and places that appear off the main streets, often characterised as laneways.

Casabella Lane and Racquet Lane were described in my last column but Hamilton’s central city boasts two others that are also worthy of exploration: Bucks Way also off Barton St, and Riverbank Lane off Victoria St.Bucks Way is a laneway between Barton and Victoria streets alongside the Wilson’s car park, which is also home to the food truck markets on a Friday night.Bucks Way has a tenancy that is famous in the central city – Rocket Coffee.