Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora Ki Kirikiriroa Returns With Stellar Line-Up

The Hamilton Arts Festival Toi Ora Ki Kirikiriroa is set to return in 2025 with an exciting and diverse programme of events, featuring hometown legends Katchafire, a new readers and writers component, Kiwi acting icons Michael Hurst and Jennifer Ward-Lealand, NZ Opera and more.

The festival (formerly known as the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival) will see over 800 performing artists converge on Hamilton Kirikiriroa from the 21st of Feb to the 2nd March next year.

Global roots reggae phenomenon Katchafire will see out the festival’s closing night with a performance celebrating 28 years of existence by revisiting their debut album Revival. With six albums to their name, the eight-piece all Maaori band are a staple on the global

Pacific roots music scene, sharing stages with the likes of Damian Marley, UB40 and The Wailers.

Originally recorded in 2000, Revival features some of the band’s most beloved songs including Seriously, Giddy Up and Collie Herb Man. The forthcoming Reviving Revival album will include remixes and songs re-recorded with a host of special guests.

Music, theatre, dance, comedy, musical theatre and whaanau-friendly shows are all represented across 46 ticketed events, with an additional programme of free events to be announced in the coming months.

Most shows will take place in the award-winning newly refurbished Hamilton Gardens, with a smattering of events taking place in the CBD at venues like The Meteor Theatre, Clarence Street Theatre and new festival partners Riverlea Theatre and Last Place.

According to Festival Director Geoff Turkington, the festival programme bridges cultures, perspectives, and generations.

“This year’s festival programme is a quirky, vibrant celebration of art, culture, and community in the heart of Hamilton, New Zealand’s fastest growing city.

“While it’s a showcase of creativity, it’s also a gathering of diverse voices and stories, reflecting the richness of our community through the universal language of the arts.

“It is also a lot of fun!”

HamLit - A Literary Festival Within a Festival

Bookworms will be encouraged to see new addition HamLit taking place across the first weekend of the festival. Touted as a mini-readers and writers festival, HamLit comprises nine events taking place in the Mansfield Garden and Medici Court.

Over thirty local authors from across the motu will take part, with author’s discussing themes running the gamut from the joys of foraging and the history of feijoas (Foraging with a Side of Feijoa), to environmental advocacy (Mike Joy’s in discussion with Venetia Sherson in The Fight for Freshwater).

Among other readers and writers panels, Karyn Hay, an author in her own right, will talk to Jude Dobson and Diana Wichtel about their best-selling books The Last Secret Agent and Unreel. The multi-talented Jennifer Ward-Lealand will kōrero with Monty Soutar and

Vincent O’Malley about their most recent works, Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment and The Invasion of Waikato, Te Riri Ki Tainui while broadcaster/writer Miriama Kamo will discuss fiction with Airana Ngarewa and Michelle Rahurahu.

Hamilton born and bred co-curator Elisabeth Easther says she’s honoured to be part of this illuminating celebration of readers and writers.

“I’m so looking forward to what is sure to be a brilliant summer event, and to hear some of my favourite authors talk about their work in such a picturesque setting!” says Easther.

Opening Weekend Highlights

The festival kicks off with a large-scale orchestral concert Carmina Burana, featuring Hamilton City Brass and a Festival Chorus. Carmina Burana is inspired by an anthology of mediaeval poetry celebrating the joys of life and bookended by one of the most epic and universally recognisable chorus features in the literature: O Fortuna.

The first Saturday sees perennial festival favourite Sunset Symphony back with an eclectic programme of music celebrating the history of dance and featuring a diverse mix of community performers coming together on the Rhododendron Lawn.

Theatre lovers will enjoy In Other Words, a powerful play about Alzheimer’s disease, starring Michael Hurst and Jennifer Ward-Lealand in their first-ever two-hander.

Elsewhere in the theatre line-up Indian Ink Theatre Company present Guru of Chai, a much-loved play from one of New Zealand’s finest performers Jacob Rajan. The play explores the contradictions of modern India, ‘with its iPhones and ancient gods’, and has been described as a work of genius.

Music & Performance Across the Gardens

The Hamilton Gardens Rhododendron Lawn will see its fair share of foot traffic with Tāmaki Makaurau based Jazz saxophonist Nathan Haines presenting a 7-piece band featuring vocalists and performers from his latest critically acclaimed album, Notes.

The Music is Bond will take audiences on a journey through the legendary James Bond soundtracks with vocal performances from the sensational Jackie Clarke, Lavina Williams, and Naomi Ferguson.

Puerto Rican dub musician Pachyman will return to New Zealand after a much talked about appearance at Auckland’s The Others Way Festival last year. The multi-instrumentalist and one-man band will perform in The Modernist Garden, a fitting venue for a performer with a stylised Summery look and sound.

A line-up of up and coming singer songwriters and bands will perform at the CBD venue, including Jazmine Mary (whose 2023 festival performance was cancelled last minute due to rain), Louisa Nicklin and recent Flying Nun signing Ringlets. Also featuring is Ngāpuhi chanteuse Erny Belle whose sophomore album Not Your Cupid (2023) was nominated for the Taite Music Prize and Album of the Year at the Aotearoa Music Awards in 2024.

Whaanau-friendly events include the puppet show Aya & The Butterfly and solo theatre performance Rock Bottom. The programme also sees NZ Opera and Opus Orchestra collaborating to present The Elixir of Love, one of the most esteemed operas ever written, now adapted for a family-friendly audience. For two performances at the Clarence Street Theatre, acclaimed local director Jacqueline Coats takes Donizetti and Scribe's 19th century classic and transports it to a world of Fish and Chip shops and teen idols.

Two immersive experiences also join the festival this year: Flow State, a koha event celebrating the Waikato River, will feature a sound and light installation in the Indian Char Bagh Garden. Meanwhile, Couture in the Garden will transform the Italian

Renaissance Garden and Medici Court into a runway show celebrating floral-inspired high fashion.

Throughout the festival, visitors will encounter roaming performers, from puppeteers to impromptu piano recitals, along with festival favourites such as the Doing Pennants group, adding an extra layer of magic to the festival experience.

Head to hamiltonartsfestival.co.nz to check out the full programme. Multi-show buy discounts and layby options are available.

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