We have a good range of intellectual and cultural offerings in the Wakatipu over the next two months. We list below events both organised by Catalyst Trust and offered by others in the community – with more details on the upcoming events page. Remember to enrol on our Early Warning System database or like our Facebook page if you want a handy reminder.
CATALYST is all about bringing intellectual stimulation to the Wakatipu – providing locals and visitors with the opportunity for mental as well as adrenal challenge. We collaborate with learning institutes and anyone else who can provide such opportunities to do so. We would love to hear from you if you or your visitors would be happy to share expertise and knowledge about a topic that others might find fascinating, challenging, mind opening… all those good things. Any time you have an idea or opportunity, please go to our Get Involved page and get in touch with us.
Meanwhile, the happenings ahead…
TEDx Queenstown – April 19, Queenstown Memorial Centre, for a day of intriguing and innovative TED talks based on the theme of illumination. Tickets and more information at www.tedxqueenstown.com
Festival of Colour, Wanaka-based but with events in Queenstown and elsewhere in the Upper Clutha, April 21-27. Tickets and more information at www.festivalofcolour.co.nz
Queenstown Filmmakers’ Experiences Living in the Middle East, Monday, April 27, 5:30 p.m, The Rees Queenstown conference room. Free, but please register at [email protected] See upcoming events page for this Catalyst Trust event featuring local film makers and journalists Holly and Josh Wallace, who spent two years living in Doha, Qatar – Josh as an Al Jazeera editor and cameraman and Holly as a journalist, women’s rights conference organiser and filmmaker.
Sound and Sense: What Makes a Poem? Catalyst Trust workshop, Queenstown Library 6.30 – 9.00pm Thursday, May 7th 2015, with Hannah Mettner and Jo Morris. Free. Numbers are limited so register to secure your place at [email protected] Calling all budding poets and poetry aficionados! This workshop will focus on the joys of reading and writing poetry. See the event page here for more info
Upfront Session #10, Thursday May 21, 7 p.m., Fluid’s Front Room Gallery, Memorial Street.
Ancient DNA: Secrets From the Past. Dr Craig Millar, of the Allan Wilson Centre. Wednesday, May 27, 5:30 p.m. The Rees Queenstown conference room. Free but please register at [email protected] This Allan Wilson Centre for Ecology And Evolution talk, hosted by Catalyst Trust, will reveal how ever-advancing DNA research has allowed us to unlock some of the best kept secrets of New Zealand’s past.
Michael Hill International Violin Competition, Queen’s Birthday weekend, Friday 5th to Monday, June 8th. Queenstown Memorial Centre. This weekend celebration of international violinists kicks off with two talks about violins and their makers – are 300 year old violins from Cremona really better than the best modern instruments? – on Friday night, with “insider guides” to the music the world’s top violin competitors will be playing each of the three following mornings. More information at http://www.violincompetition.co.nz/2015-competition/competition-calendar