Arts & Entertainment

Southland's arts scene is bigger than anyone expected. More than 90 nominations flooded in for this year's regional arts awards — a number that surprised even the organisers. Arts Murihiku now faces the pleasant problem of choosing between four to six finalists in each of nine categories.

Simon Thompson has won the top prize at the country music awards that matter. The Senior MLT NZ Gold Guitar Award went to Thompson over King's Birthday Weekend, along with $5,000 cash, a fully produced single, and a trip to the 2027 Tamworth Country Music Festival in

Golden tickets have been turning up in menus at the Speight’s Ale House in Invercargill the entire month of May for the brewery’s 150th birthday. Customers dining in have been treated to instant prizes such as Speight’s branded Crocs, chiller bags, hats and drink bottles “and it’

👑 Welcome to Your Weekend Gig Guide – King’s Birthday Edition 🎶 📅 May 29–31 | Invercargill The long weekend has arrived, and there’s plenty happening across Invercargill to keep you entertained. Speight’s is celebrating its 150th birthday with a huge Saturday night party, the A Capella Singers mark 50 years

Repertory Invercargill is turning 90 with a love story about parallel universes. Constellations, running June 10-13, follows a physicist and a beekeeper through the many possible paths their relationship could take. The play blends science, humour, heartbreak and the theory that every small choice changes everything. Director Aimee Marshall, whose

Lloyd Esler has spent 25 years digging through Southland's graveyards and emerged with 150 stories of murder, mishap and the occasional elephant. The historian and former Invercargill city councillor has turned his cemetery tours and 1200 newspaper columns into Dead and Buried in Southland — a collection that reads

Riverton Aparima Gears Up for its inaugural Riverton Retro Revival This King's Birthday Weekend, the seaside village of Riverton will burst into colour, creativity, and nostalgia as the very first Riverton Retro Revival rolls into town on Sunday 31 May and Monday 1 June. At the heart of

Southland artist Danny Owen has been awarded the contract to replace the much-loved 25-year-old landmark with a new sculpture designed to stand proudly for the next 30 years. A treasured part of the town for more than two decades, the original statue had well exceeded its intended lifespan of 10