Outdoor Art Celebration

The cream of New Zealand’s street artists will be descending on K’ Road from

Friday 3 – Sun 5 May to take part in the precinct’s inaugural All Fresco street art festival.  In a live demonstration, nine blank walls in the precinct will be transformed by nine art crews hand-picked by festival organiser Ross Liew.

Fresh from organising Taupo’s Graffiato festival, Ross, a founding member of Cut Collective and the talent behind the TrustMe moniker, has paired some of New Zealand’s best known local and expat artists with walls he believes will best suit their talents. 

Art styles will range from resident Wellington duo BMD’s large format works to expat Melbourne and Berlin-based HaHa’s detailed stencil cuts and are aimed to provide a spectator friendly attraction over a three-day period from 11am – 7pm.   Festival sponsors, the K’ Road Business Association, also plan to develop a street art walk based on the finished collection of works.

For a taster of participating artists’ creative styles, viewers are invited to attend a group exhibition at Upper Queen St’s Method and Manners Gallery from 6-9pm on Thursday

2 May which will run as part of K’Road’s regular late night art event First Thursdays.  For a list of All Fresco’s locations and festival map, visit www.allfresco.co.nz

NZ Made & Vintage

An aim of specialising in product which is quirky, different and a little bit of fun, makes newcomer to K’ Road, The Bread and Butter Letter, a vintage, craft and tea store, an ideal fit with the street’s character.

Owners Rose Howcroft and Sarah Firmston relocated their two-year-old business to K’ Road in March in the hope of bringing a taste of the anticipation and excitement of a weekend craft market to customers  - all week long.  Hand made New Zealand craft ranging from kiwiana-themed tea towels to crocheted cushions supplied by makers across a spectrum encompassing young designers to grandmothers, festoon the shelves of their newly-renovated premises at 225 K’ Road.    Add to this a selection of vintage and upcycle clothing and accessories and a certified organic range of locally blended teas boasting flavours such as Classic Black, Fresh Mint and Lemonish and the menu of ‘nana-ish’ offerings refashioned to meet current street-cred requirements is complete.

Providing  a platform for secret crafters  who are “not loud about what they make, but are inspiring and forward thinking in their work” is the philosophy behind The Bread and Butter Letter, ‘ says Rose.

Hearty Homestyle Fare

Fresh healthy fare, served up in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere reminiscent of a Berlin coffee house – that’s what sisters Leisha and Renae Jones want customers of their newly-opened Honeytrap café in St Kevin’s Arcade to experience.  Having enjoyed a summer together in the former Eastern Bloc state last year, the pair felt inspired to transport a taste of the European hospitality they experienced there back to K’ Road.

Later opening hours and a casual ambience combined with good music and great food are just some of the Berlin-style characteristics Leisha and Renee plan to emulate here in their recently renovated premises. 

Free WiFi is an added extra Honeytrap provide, but the essential ingredient the pair hope to attract customers with is the fresh food prepared on site daily.  Hearty salads brimming with quinoa and farro grains, vegetables, nuts and cheeses, which vary daily and sandwiches, laden with the likes of slow-cooked beef brisket topped with spicy homemade pickles, sauces or mayonnaise, will be a mainstay.  These can be washed down with Supreme filter coffee accompanied by cakes, cookies or slices plucked straight from the oven. All are available either to go or in-house.

Retro Recreation

Secrecy and subterfuge were synonymous with the speakeasies or illegal bars which sprang up in 1920’s America during the prohibition years.  Their hidden locations, often in basements or secret rooms, gave them an air of excitement tinged with danger.   Cabaret and burlesque performer Lilly Loca and a well- known Auckland chef who asks to be referred to be only as Wylie D are aiming to recreate some of that feeling on K’ Road with the establishment of club Whisper150 this month.

In the spirit of speakeasies, we can’t disclose where Whisper 150 will be located, except to say its name holds a clue and that patrons are being promised ‘a high class good time replete with gourmet food, classic cocktails and drinks along with fabulous entertainment’ on a fortnightly basis.

“We want to bring back the exuberant lavish and ritzy times of the 1920’s to the heart of the Auckland’s CBD”, says Lilly. 

The rules relating to Whisper 150 including dress code, location, ticket and etiquette details for the evening, can only be obtained when patrons officially join the club by liking it on Facebook.  (Shssh, pass it on!)

Alternative Art

Above:: ...Him - The Audio Foundation
If you missed the offbeat art in Myers Park on Saturday – an introduction to the extensive programme of events Fringe Auckland have planned for their 2013 festival – don’t despair.  The programme has just begun!

Here on K Road we’ll be watching out for local offerings such as Darling Today We’re Going to Die presented by newly formed theatre company Three Queens.at Alleluya Café (koha entry), Dog Star a dark world tale starring well known actor Jeremy Randerson showing at Whammy Bar in St Kevin’s Arcade basement and Oh! Is forOpera, an adults only opera performance delivered by Opera Risque at Galatos Live.  For more detail about what's on offer during this month-long artfest, check out  www.aucklandfringe.co.nz ..

K' Road Fringe

Auckland Fringe 2013 is in full swing currently and if you haven’t made it along yet, there’s still plenty of time to catch up with some of New Zealand’s edgiest art performances.  Risque opera at Galatos, interactive video game projections and spoken word performances are amongst an extensive programme of events running until 10 March.

Meet ‘Him’, at The Audio Foundation, a recluse, whose only connection with the outside world is a regular newspaper which arrives through a postal flap in his front door.  Salivate alongside actors Virginia Frankovich and Phoebe Mason in Gorge at the Old Folks Association as they draw you into a fantasy world inhabited by rivers of chocolate cake mixture and marshmallow fondue towers.  Or mosey along to Myers Park and St Kevin’s Arcade to hear poets, writers and rap artists in Spit it Out read excerpts from their own work.

Alternatively call into The Whammy Bar in St Kevin’s Arcade basement where theatre productions Dog Star -  a dark-world tale involving a mask, alien knowledge and a curse and Ticking Time Bomb – a two women comedy set in fictional small town New Zealand, are featuring.

Queerlesque Cabaret – 9pm Fri 15 Feb 2013

It’s cabaret, but not as you know it!   Auckland-based troupe Queerlesque a gender inclusive cabaret and variety act who boldly blur gender lines and blend performance types, combining cabaret, burlesque and circus acts, are set to wow audiences at The Rising Sun’s 4:20 bar next month when they take to the stage as part of Auckland Pride Festival.

Drag queens, drag kings, boylesque and gender queer performers are included n a line-up poised to deliver aerial, acrobatic and fire performances alongside a showcase of dance, lip-synch and spoken word routines.  Featuring performers from around New Zealand Queerlesque will be hosted by veterans of burlesque Phlossy Roxx and Miss Ivy League.  For bookings and further information visit http://www.aucklandpridefestival.org.nz/events/cabaret/queerlesque/