👋🏼 Hello Hamilton

Have you noticed white, thick, silky strands floating through the air and sticking to cars and poles in your part of Hamilton recently?

Believe it or not, it’s the webs of young spiders who have released fine threads of silk to catch the wind and travel to new homes. Biologists call it ‘ballooning’, a behaviour where spiders parachute in on long strands of webbing to disperse themselves. Creepy. But cool!

Thanks for reading Hello Hamilton again this week. First time reading? I’m Ben from Hamilton East 👋🏼 and today we’re covering the best things happening in the Tron this week and news headlines you can’t miss. Join almost 8,000 Hamiltonians here.

Let’s get into it!

🎟️ What’s on in the Tron this week?

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2025 | Thu 15th 6:30pm at Gallagher Academy Concert Chamber. This year’s tour features over 2 hours of thought-provoking films from the most inspiring action, environmental, cultural and adventure films from the festival. Tickets.

Beats By Bingo | Thu 15th 7:00pm at Good Neighbour Rototuna. Come for a night of musical bingo featuring throwback jams, sing alongs, seat dancing and prize winning. Info.

Local artists live | Thu 15th 8:00pm at Nivara Lounge. A stellar lineup of Waikato bands - with some in the finals for Battle Of The Bands. $10 entry. Info.

Tight! Music and Comedy | Fri 16th 5:00-8:00pm at Patrons Craft Beers. Fresh female trio playing awesome songs with a side of stand-up comedy, parodies and interactive funny business! Free entry. Info.

Ladies Night | Fri 16th 7:00pm at Hamilton Cosmopolitan Club. A fun, relaxed evening with a rotating lineup of Book Club, Craft Night, Games Night, and 8 Ball. Enjoy $10 cocktail specials, mocktails from $6, and great company – whether you’re a member or just visiting! Info.

Hamilton Night Market | Fri 16th 5:00-11:00pm at 306 Barton Street. Don’t forget about the iconic Hamilton market! Info.

Frankie Venter live | Fri 16th 7:00pm at The Meteor. At just 18, Frankie is making waves in the Aotearoa music scene with her distinctive vocals, relatable songwriting, and effortless style. Tickets.

Pitch Black live | Fri 16th 8:00pm at Last Place. Touring to celebrate the inaugural vinyl release of Rude Mechanicals, their fourth album. Also coming out will be a new collection of remixes, Freqs in Flux, which features mixes from the album's original era plus contemporary reinterpretations. Tickets.

Joe Cole and Nick Herbison live | Fri 16th 8:00pm at Nivara Lounge. The folk/roots artists are cutting a track North of Hawkes Bay to play a handful of shows in celebration of their collaborative single 'Tides'. Tickets.

The Big Go Eco Garage Sale | Sat 17th 8:00-11:00am at Go Eco Environment Centre. From furniture, homewares, plants, books, bikes and tools - there's something for everyone – and every dollar will support Go Eco’s mahi for people and planet. Info.

Kirikiriroa Hamilton Zinefest 2025 | Sat 17th 10:00am-3:00pm at Hamilton Central Library. A zine (pronounced "zeen") is a labour of love, creativity and self-publishing. This year's market features 60 stallholders from all around the country, including Hamilton's local Fair Enough art market, selling additional artisan goodies. Info.

Open Mic Night | Sat 17th 6:00pm at Brewaucracy. Craving your 15 minutes of fame? Whether it is singing, playing an instrument, magic tricks, spoken word or dance, all are welcome! Info.

Thabani Gapara Presents: The African Traveller | Sat 17th 7:00pm at The Meteor. Join acclaimed saxophonist Thabani Gapara on a musical journey through the rich and vibrant sounds of Southern Africa in his latest concert experience. Tickets.

80s Forever Dance Party | Sat 17th 9:00pm at Nivara Lounge. It if came out in the 80s and you can dance to it, they might play it! Tickets.

Stag Yarrow and Friends | Sat 17th 9:00pm at Last Place. Stags Yarrow blend folk with blackened doom and post-metal. Tickets.

Meet-Up Games Afternoon | Sun 18th 2:00pm at Melting Moment Cafe. Join the Meeple Meet-Up, a dedicated board game event. Beginner and advanced players welcome, and they’ll teach you how to play! Info.

Adam Kay – This Is Going To Hurt | Sun 18th 7:00pm at Claudelands. A hilarious show about life on and off the hospital wards from doctor turned BAFTA-winning comedian Adam Kay. Tickets.

Yoga at the Museum | Mon 19th 5:30pm at Waikato Museum. Held weekly through the winter months, this series is led by Katie Deare and other qualified yoga instructors from Sun Salute Yoga Centre. Book.

Avis Magic vs Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel | Mon 19th 7:30pm at Globox Arena. See your team, Avis Magic, live as they take on the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel in Round 2 of the 2025 ANZ Premiership. Tickets.

Little Morning for Your Little Ones | Tue 20th 10:00am at Chartwell Shopping Centre. Free morning with Get Messy Hamilton - a transport-themed morning of sensory fun at The Conservatory (near Subway). Info.

Paint and Wine Night - Creative Cockatoo | Tue 20th 7:00pm at Good Neighbour. Join for a creative night of drinking and painting. Tickets.

Lara Hall and Gracie Francis - Violin and Piano | Wed 21st 1:00pm at Gallagher Academy Concert Chamber. Included on the programme are Ravel's jazz and blues inspired Sonata no. 2 alongside works by Gareth Farr, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and Marion Bauer. Tickets.

Paint and Donate for Canteen | Wed 21st 6:00pm at Splashy Art Studio. A team of Waikato University students have been tasked with designing and executing a fundraising event for a real client, and here it is! Join for an unforgettable night of ceramic painting and giving back. Whether you're coming with friends or flying solo, it's the perfect opportunity to relax, connect, unleash your creative side and create something special. Tickets.

Bonnie & Clyde Musical | All week at Riverlea Theatre. Hamilton Musical Theatre has delivered a ripsnorting spectacle with their production of a musical based on the legend of outlaws, Bonnie and Clyde. Tickets.

Event organiser? Submit your event to Hello Hamilton.

As always, please double-check event details haven’t changed since you received this email… orrr that I haven’t accidentally listed it as the wrong day.

👀 Hamilton headlines you may have missed

The reconstruction of Hamilton Airport’s northern terminal to handle the resumption of international flights by Jetstar next month is now complete. Border agencies are set to finish their fit-outs by the end of the month and another 250 public carparks are due to be in place by early June. Watch.

Central city retailers are backing a call to return to two hours free street parking in Hamilton’s CBD, and so are some who’ve been hit with hefty fines. Mayoral race contender Tim Macindoe this week made a fresh push to revert to the system, saying there had been complaints the current one-hour regime and heavier fines were scaring people away from the CBD. Read.

Rugby: The Gallagher Chiefs have scored 32 unanswered points to beat the Crusaders 35-19 in Christchurch. The result sees Clayton McMillan's side take an iron grip on first place on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder, with one hand on locking in the home advantage for the play-offs. Read.

A Green Party policy proposes extending the existing Te Huia train service, between Hamilton and Auckland, building additional stations in Tauranga, Morrinsville and Waharoa. A “no-brainer” commuters say, as a “cheaper, safer and faster” alternative to the worst traffic in the country and soaring airfares. Read.

Hamilton councillors have put off a vote on in-principle support for potential bus service changes, with some seeing red flags and a potential “Trojan horse”. Proposed ideas included a new Rototuna high frequency service, and replacing the Orbiter with a Northern Link and a Southern Link. Read.

Netball: Waikato Bay of Plenty Avis Magic are ready for their first home game in Hamilton at Globox Arena against Southern Steel next week. The Magic may not have opened the 2025 season the way they’d hoped, but with a settled squad and a renewed campaign focus, the team are determined to turn the page quickly. Read.

City leaders have backed two new signalised pedestrian crossings: across Grey St out the front of KFC just north of Wellington St in Hamilton East, and across Peachgrove Rd just outside Southwell School. Cost estimates for the projects are $800,000 and $750,000 respectively. Read.

Hamilton City Council is keeping its cards close to its financial chest over the dollar value of potential gains from a new-style profit share arrangement on the 25-storey Templeton hotel, apartments and entertainment project. However, the council has revealed it’s set to get a 10% share of “development profit” from the $120 million-plus project. Read.

While naughty red tags and please do better yellow have been around on some Hamilton recycling bins for a while, Hamilton City Council will soon roll out a green variety to highlight households who do a great job each week. Bin inspectors go through recycling bins citywide to make sure there’s no non-recyclable items to prevent contamination. Read.

🚧 Road closures this week

• Te Kowhai Road (from the Boulevard to Tasman Road) will be closed Sunday 18 May, from 6am – 6.30pm for resurfacing of the rail crossing. Pedestrians and people on bikes are to follow instructions from traffic management.  

• Reminder: Variable 30km/h speed limits were introduced around 12 Hamilton schools from the start of Term 2 on 28 April 2025, and they operate during school pick-up and drop-off times. Outside of these times, the speed limits are either 40km/h or 50km/h. More.

As always, thanks for reading Hello Hamilton today. I really appreciate your support. If you found something useful, please share it with someone who is scared of spiders.

Please reply to this email ([email protected]) if you have any suggestions for what you would like to see in future editions of Hello Hamilton! I always love hearing from you, and am actively looking for ways to improve the publication.

See you next Thursday, friend!

— Ben

P.S. Event organiser? Submit your event to Hello Hamilton here.