5 things to do this weekend

1CRAZY COWGIRLS: The Crazy Cowgirls of Pemberley Ranch are playing at the Octagon Theatre in Regent, Whanga¯ rei. A smart and funny spin on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, set in the Wild West, the story gets a southern twist on ageold themes of love, money and manners. The movie will run from 7pm tonight and tomorrow. Tickets are available from Craniums, 10 Reyburn House Lane at The Town Basin. Dinner and show costs $48, Sunday matinee and show $35, and $30 for show-only anytime.

2CHESS: Play chess, no fees, all ages welcome, tomorrow from 10am at the central library, Whanga¯ rei. Bring a set if you can. Negotiate time limits or social games to suit yourself. Planning a weekend tournament in winter.

3SONG WRITING: Maggie Cocco is running a song writing course that has hopes to cover lyricism, setting words to music, chords and chord progressions, song structure, arrangement, tools, and approach. It promises to have profound takeaways for every beginning songwriter. Cocco is an American born singer-songwriter based in Whanga¯ rei. She specialises in popular voice performance, instruction, and composition, with heavy pop, rock, blues, folk, jazz, and RnB influence. Today 10am-12noon at 3rd Place Theatre.

4BOOK: Looking for a new book to read then this could be the one. NZ author Barbara S Carr is having her book launch today at Questionable Research Labs from 3-5pm. The book Shifting the Mind’s Eye is a captivating collection of short stories spanning the 1950s to the present in Aotearoa New Zealand. Barbara Carr has lived in Te Tai Tokerau for 20 years. In addition, Patricia Brickell - whose painting has been used for the book cover - will exhibit some of her work.

5PODCAST: Stolen: The Search for Jermain is a Spotify original podcast streaming now. It’s about the disappearance of a young mother in 2018who was never seen again and goes inside the investigation as police try to solve the mystery.