Festival fare from sax to symphonies
The Sunset Symphony and Grooves in the Gardens are among the highlights as the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival reaches its climax,
The annual Sunset Symphony has been a mainstay of the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival for more than a decade – and it looks like the 2021 concert will be no exception.
Following the opening act, Brass Attack at 7.30pm today, the Trust Waikato Symphony Orchestra will get things under way from 8pm with Elmer Bernstein’s theme from The Magnificent Seven, with the climactic fireworks display lighting up the skies overhead from about 9.15pm.
Concert-goers are advised to bring a blanket and some cushions to listen in comfort to the programme, which includes works by Tchaikovsky, Offenbach and Vangelis.
Meanwhile, over at the nearby Grassroots Festival Hub stage, a showcase of Hamilton’s best femalefronted acts will be performing from 5pm.
The lineup for the Chick Fest show – not to be confused with the Grrrl Fest event in the city the following weekend – includes Kyla Greening, Empress, Phreaze, Date Month Year, and JP & the Drag Kings.
The concerts are just two events in a packed final weekend of festival events. Another staple of the annual line-up is Grooves in the Gardens, which runs from 10am to 3pm tomorrow in Harkness Henry’s Emporium of Scintillating Wonders.
It includes a large vintage market that traditionally draws thousands searching for collectables and a bit of nostalgic revelry on what will be the last day of summer.
There will be 10 DJs spinning records across two stages, food trucks and, inside the emporium, thousands of collectables on sale from vendors from around the North Island – comics, 1980s and 90s fashion, Crown Lynn ceramics, action figures, vintage hi-fi equipment and records.
Not every work in the festival can be found in the gardens. Ko Ta¯ ua/You &I is a new theatre production being staged at Te Kohinga Ma¯ rama Marae at Waikato University at 3pm today.
Set in post-Treaty New Zealand in the 1840s, it tells the story of two starcrossed lovers: British officer Farren Barton and Ma¯ ori puhi (princess) Hinema¯ ia.
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Auckland-based saxophonist Thabani Gapara has graced stages around the world. The stage he will grace this weekend with his afro-funk and jazz group will be in the emporium at 6.30pm today.
Another now-regular and very popular festival event is the annual Tower of Song concert, which can also be experienced in the emporium at 8pm. The show features Hamilton musicians Chris Williams, Trevor Faville, Mark Connolly and Derek Shaw performing songs by the grand masters of musical storytelling like Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan.
Another group of Hamilton musicians, Goulash Archipelago, will combine their talents with the Waikato-based international dance group Dance Folkus in the Surrealist Garden at 6pm tomorrow to present entertainment from the tiny independent Balkan state of Ukestan.
The not-entirely-serious show will feature anecdotes and demonstrations, as well as a rare chance to learn one of the simpler Ukestanian folk dances.
Further information about all events and where to buy tickets can be found at hgaf.co.nz