Stories

CBD retailers have endured tough economic times but a senior business leader is seeing more optimistic signals, while shop owners have mixed views about 2025.

Concerns include the impact on shopper numbers of having just one hour free parking in the CBD, introduced last year. Customers have reported being resistant to paying for more time.

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Hamilton Central Business Association general manager Vanessa Williams said on Wednesday that she’d been chatting to about half a dozen retailers this year about how things were going over January.

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Jeremy Mayall almost got a proper job once. Fresh out of school, he figured doing law at university would be the way to go.

The application included writing a page about why he wanted to be a lawyer.

As easy as that sounds - hey, just lie if you have to - he couldn’t do it. A fateful decision was made, he changed to a BA, majoring in music, screen studies and theatre.

These days the flamboyantly bearded Mayall is chief executive of Creative Waikato, a musician and composer, and a consummate proponent for the arts.

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Dumplings are one of the most common dishes ordered from a Chinese restaurant on any given day.

They’re not hard to make from scratch, as anyone from northern China will tell you. Growing up, dumpling making was the ultimate family activity - there’s no such thing as “too many cooks in the kitchen”.

With Lunar New Year approaching, why not give this dish a go? Trust me, as someone who is a terrible cook, it’s not as hard as it looks.

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Renting with SB owner Storm Benson started the business out of her university flat and now has a shop in central Hamilton.

When Storm Benson was a struggling student and couldn’t afford a different dress every week despite her desire to look good, the idea for a business was born.

Seven years later, she’s rented clothing to others more than 16,000 times, moved her side hustle from a Hamilton flat to a CBD shop and sends out 80-100 people into the world in a new dress each week.

The 27-year-old came up with the idea while at Waikato University.

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Try riding with Flex for only $2 per ride!

The New Zealand-built buses are smaller and have comfortable seats that are fitted with seatbelts and can carry 13 passengers, or 10 people and a wheelchair user.

Bookings can be made up to a week in advance of travel, or just 15 minutes before you’re ready to go. The buses are GPS tracked in real time, so you can track your ride in the Flex app.

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“For people wanting to get to and from the CBD, we’re really excited to be able to provide an affordable option for people wanting a corner-to-corner service rather than only stopping at bus stops,” said Regional Connections Committee Chair and Waikato regional councillor Angela Strange.

“The service will take people with a mobility impairment driveway-to-driveway – all you have to do is let us know when registering on the Flex app.

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Book now in three easy steps:

Download the FREE Flex app

Set up your rider profile with your preferred payment method

Select your preferred location, time and the best pick up and drop off points for your journey into the city - and return!

Easy! Group bookings are available (up to 13 seats) and Flex vehicles are wheelchair friendly too!

Flex operates every Friday and Saturday from 6pm-4am.

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Prepare for an exciting four days of art, culture, and community.

Boon Street Art Festival to Transform Hamilton with Stunning Murals and Cultural Experiences – March 13th-16th, 2025

Kirikiriroa, Hamilton, prepare for an exciting four days of art, culture, and community as the Boon Street Art Festival returns to Hamilton from March 13th to 16th, 2025. This exciting festival will feature an incredible artist lineup, an interactive community mural, and a variety of events designed to celebrate the city's creative spirit.

The talented artists set to showcase their work include international artist Alison Mooney, Alice Alva (Hamilton), Kophie Su’a Hulsbosch (Christchurch), Flox & Sweats (Auckland), Theo Arraj (Raglan), and Te Marunui Hotene (Whakatane).

One of the festival’s key highlights will be the sale of vibrant, one-of-a-kind murals. For just $3,500, each mural is accompanied by a plaque featuring the artist's name, a brief description of the artwork, and the buyer's logo. This initiative offers an exceptional opportunity to engage with and invest in the local creative world, allowing individuals and businesses to purchase artwork that truly lives on the street, enriching the public space.

We’re looking for passionate, team-oriented individuals who are eager to volunteer their time and energy to making this Street Art Festival come to life. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain experience, meet new people, and have some fun with like-minded individuals. To sign up or learn more, please email Megan at volunteers@boonarts.co.nz

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Matthew Cooper of Sport Waikato and Dr Jeremy Mayall of Creative Waikato met to experience Te Ara Toi o Te Taniwha.

Active and creative activities have long been recognised as pillars of community wellbeing, fostering physical health, mental resilience and social cohesion.

The uniting features of these activities are found in newin-app experience, Te Ara Toi o Te Taniwha, an interactive animated guided arts experience developed by Creative Waikato in partnership with PickPath.

This unique creative experience takes participants through the city’s CBD, exploring local street art and cultural stories in a game-like mixed media format.

Walking from the river to the highest point of Kirikiriroa Hamilton CBD, it creates a fun way to incorporate active movement through a creative experience.

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Whether you’re a local or a visitor, there’s so much to rediscover and enjoy. Start your journey with lovethecentre.co.nz, your ultimate guide to the best places to eat, shop, and experience in Hamilton’s central city.

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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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