The Guide: What's on this week

'Rangi In The Forest', by Rob Piggott, a Dunedin abstract artist, can be seen Rocda Gallery in...
'Rangi In The Forest', by Rob Piggott, a Dunedin abstract artist, can be seen Rocda Gallery in Dunedin, opening this Sunday until December 19.
This week's highlights: Ho, ho, ho! If it's December, it must be time to visit Santa and his friends at Pixie Town at the Otago Settlers Museum. Pixie Town is open weekends and December 21-24 from 10am-noon and 1pm-4pm, and it's free.

Invading forces: Stage South presents its final play reading of the year at the Fortune Theatre on Saturday at 3pm. The Perfumed Garden by Dean Parker is a play in five self-contained scenes of 20-30 minutes each, each scene an invasion of Afghanistan: by the Greeks in 329BC, the British in the 19th century, hippies in 1970, the Russians in 1980 and New Zealanders assisting the Americans in 2010. Admission is $5, afternoon tea provided.



• Gigs

Alibi, the Octagon.
Fridays, from 10.30pm: Hemi and Bede.

Careys Bay Hotel.
Tonight, 7.30pm: Rusty Strings featuring Julian Temple, Tono, Nadia Reid and Michael Cathro.
Sunday, 3-6pm: Summer Jazz in the Courtyard with the Calder Prescott Jazz Quartet

Chicks Hotel, Port Chalmers.
Saturday, 8pm; Bond St Bridge and John White.
Sunday, 3pm: Midnight Kitchen with Ash and the Matadors.

Circadian Rhythm Cafe, 72 St Andrew St.
Fridays, 5.30pm: Philtre Jazz Trio.

Dunedin Musicians Club, 12 Manse St.
Thursdays, 5pm: open mike night.

Isis Lounge, 68 Princes St.
Every Wednesday, 8pm: I Jazz.
Every Thursday: Oxo Cubans jam night, from 8pm.
Every Friday, 8pm: Oxo Cubans, party night.
Tomorrow: Monique Rhodes, 8pm-9.30pm.

Pequeno, the Savoy.
Thursdays: Mojaz, lounge music from 8pm.

Ra Cafe and Bar, 21 the Octagon.
Wednesdays: B-Shed, from 7pm.

Robbie Burns Pub, 374 George St.
Thursdays: Calder Prescott Jazz Quartet, 8.30pm.

Rosie's Bar, Victoria Hotel.
Thursdays, 9pm: open mike night. Gear provided.

Swell, St Clair, Esplanade.
Friday 6pm Calder Prescott, Saturday 6pm Bobby Vinson Combo, Sunday 2pm-5pm Greg Hoskins trio.

Tonic, 138 Princes St.
Saturday, 9pm: Bill Morris.

• Family fun

Blueskin Bay Library.
Preschool story time, every Friday, 10.30am. Excludes school holidays. Free.

Dunedin Public Art Gallery, the Octagon.
Saturday and Sunday, 10.30am-4.30pm: "Christmas follies". Using the materials provided, make your own Christmas decorations. Free.
Wednesday, December 9, 11:15am: "Young at Art". A free baby-friendly half-hour tour of an exhibition followed by a chat and a cup of tea on the mezzanine floor. Nappy-changing facilities.

Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Sunday, 11am-2pm: Family Fun Day - come and have a look at the progress already being made at the stadium construction site. Entry via the east end of Parry St, off Ravensbourne Rd.

Mosgiel Library, Hartstonge Ave, Mosgiel.
Preschool story time, every Tuesday, 11am.

Otago Museum, 419 Great King St.
Explorer backpacks for 7- to 12-year-olds (free). Guided tours daily at 11.30am and 3.30pm. Meet at the information desk.
Weekends, 10.30am and 2pm, atrium level 1: children's creative activities.
Weekends during December, noon and 3.30pm, atrium level 1: Interactive Trolley - The Earth's Riches.
Weekends December, 2.30pm, search centre: Origami: The Art of Folding Paper.

Otago Settlers Museum, 31 Queens Gardens.
Saturday and Sunday, 10am-noon, 1pm-4pm: Join Santa and friends in Pixie Town , celebrating Christmas past and present. Free.
Saturday, 10am-noon: Join members of Dunedin's German, French, Polish and Scandanavian communities as they decorate Christmas trees in their homeland traditions. All welcome.

Port Chalmers Library.
Preschool story time, every Wednesday, 11am.

Visitor Information Centre, Octagon.
Daily, 11am: Walk Dunedin, inner-city walking tours. Meet at the visitor centre.

• Music and performance

Central Stories Museum & Art Gallery, 21 Centennial Ave, Alexandra.
Friday, 12.15pm: Mark Wilson and guest, music and humour.

Dunedin Public Art Gallery, the Octagon.
Sunday, 12.30pm: Gospel choir "Sunny Side Up".

Dunedin Town Hall, Moray Place.
Tuesday, 7.30pm: The City of Dunedin Choir presents Handel's Messiah.

Knox Church, 449 George St.
Today, 12.15pm: Veni Veni Emmanuel, Organ Music.
Featuring Karen Knudson & Peter Stockwell.

Mayfair Theatre, King Edward St.
Tonight, 8pm: Damian Whitely performs Mozart and Me.

Otago Museum, 419 Great King St.
Lunchtime music every Friday and Saturday, noon.
Friday: James Yoo; Saturday: Trevor Coleman.

St Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin.
Friday, 12.15pm: The Southern Consort of Voices presents a Christmas Recital.

Plays Globe Theatre, 104 London St.
December 3-12 at 7.30pm, no show December 7, matinee December 6 at 2pm.
New comedy A Cup of Tea and a Biscuit. Tickets $10-$15.

Fortune Theatre, Stuart St.
Until December 12: Roger Hall's Four Flat Whites in Italy.

• Talks and films

Chick's Hotel, Port Chalmers.
Wednesday, 7pm: Remake, a film by Liz and Marian.

Dunedin Public Art Gallery, the Octagon.
Sunday, 3pm: French film. Chagall a la Russie, aux anes ae aux autres (52min PG). This documentary film includes reference to Chagall's childhood in Tsarist Russia and his participation in the Russian Revolution. .

Otago Museum, 419 Great King St.
Free daily talks, 2pm.
December daily talks: Mondays: "The Wahine Disaster".
Tuesdays: "Ka-ka-riki".
Wednesdays: "Northern Royal Albatross".
Thursdays: "Islamic ceramics".
Fridays: "South Island extinct birds".
Saturdays: "Fabulous flax".
Sundays: "Cave invertebrates".
Special exhibition gallery free talk daily at 4.30pm: "Charles Darwin: Evolutionary Thinking".

• Exhibitions

Aigantighe Art Gallery, 49 Wai-iti Rd, Timaru.

Until February 24: "Geo-morph", by Andrew Craig.
From Friday until February 28: " Steal" by Sam Mahon.

Archives New Zealand, 556 George St, Dunedin,
until January 22, 2010, "Built to Last: Five Otago Engineering Feats", archives relating to engineering sites and structures which have been milestones in New Zealand's engineering history. 9.30am-5pm.

ArtSouth Gallery of Fine Art, 105 Main St, Gore.
"2009 Celebration Collection", featuring Peter Belton, Graham Brinsley, Liz Bristow, Julie Greig and Wallace Keown.

Art Upstairs, corner Ardmore and Helwick Sts, Wanaka.
New paintings by Bill Burke, John Thom, Nigel Wilson, Graham Brinsley, and new images on zincalume by Susan Mason.

The Artist's Room, 2 Dowling St.
"Familiars", by Olav Nielsen, and Leila Ataya.
From Saturday: Christmas Group Show.

Bellamys Gallery Macandrew Bay.
December 6-25: "Elderflower Champagne and Starling Soup".
Works by Pauline Bellamy and Jodie Austin.
Open Wednesday-Sunday, noon-5pm.

Blue Oyster Gallery, basement, Moray Chambers, 30 Moray Pl.
December 1-24: Elise O'Neill and Aroha Novak "Expensive Rubbish" and Elspeth Fougere "Here, There and Everywhere (We are a Community of Cells)".
Open Tuesday-Friday 11am-5pm, Saturday noon-3pm.

Brett McDowell Gallery, 5 Dowling St.
"Modern Semaphore", by Kushana Bush.

Central Stories Museum and Art Gallery, 21 Centennial Ave, Alexandra.
Open 10am-4pm.
Until December 16: "50 Years of Collecting Art" - Permanent art collection of Alexandra District Museum.
Until January 16: "People at Work and Play" photographic competition on display.

De Beer Gallery, Special Collections, 1st floor, Central University Library.
Until January 29, 2010: "Heresy, Sedition, Obscenity: The Book Challenged".

Deluxe Gallery, 26 George St, Port Chalmers.
Until December 30: "Fun is an Art", by Octavia Mogil.

Dunedin Community Gallery, 300 Moray Place (opposite Otago Community House),
until December 12: Otago Potters Group Annual Exhibition. 10am-4pm,

Dunedin City Library, 230 Moray Pl, in the Reed Gallery, Third floor,
until February 8: "Rogues Gallery: the Villains of Charles Dickens". Meet the unsavoury characters that are part of the Dickensian charm. Free.

Dunedin Public Art Gallery, the Octagon.
Until February 28: Cho Duck Hyun, "Dark Water: the Antipodes Project". An installation produced by South Korean artist Cho Duck Hyun in Auckland this year, this work continues this artist's long interest in social and cultural history.
Ongoing: "Poseur". Portraits from the gallery's collection.
Until December 6: "Kind of Blue: new acquisitions and loans".
Until February: Bill Culbert and Ralph Hotere: "P. R. O. P".
Until February: "Tom Kreisler" - works spanning a 30-year period.
Until January: David Clegg: "Rerecordings 2006-2009."Showcases recordings the artist made in Dunedin this year alongside previous recordings, assembled here for the first time, which were made in Chile in 2006.
Until January: "Miguel Angel Rios". Works by New York and Mexico City-based artist Miguel Angel Rios.

Eastern Southland Gallery, Gore.
Until January 24: Russell Beck, "Forces of Land".

Forrester Gallery, Oamaru.
Until December 6: "Steampunk: tomorrow as it used to be". Objects by New Zealand's finest artists, including the entire collection of Weta Workshop's Dr Grordbort portraits.

Gallery at Glenfalloch, Glenfalloch Gardens.
Contemporary works by six peninsula artists.

Gallery De Novo, 101 Stuart St.
Ends today: "Poured from Blue Skies", works by Jo St Baker.
From Saturday until December 24: "Dreaming of a Round Christmas", over 80 original circular works.

Gallery on Blueskin, 1 Harvey St, Waitati.
December 4-20: "Islands and Islets", works by Maria Mackay.

The Gateway Gallery, 27 Ross Pl, Lawrence.
Arty Collection: group show.
Open Thursday-Monday.

Harris Smith Art, 86-88 Bond St.
Paintings by Jeffrey Harris, sculptures by Nicole Page-Smith.
Open Monday-Saturday, 1pm-2pm, or by appointment.

Hullabaloo Art Space, Melmore Tce, Old Cromwell historic precinct.
Until December 6: "Silent Landscapes Under A Clouded Fate", new works by Liz Kempthorne.

Inge Doesburg Studio and Gallery, 6 Castle St.
Until December 5: New paintings by Kathryn Madill.
Until December 24: "Christmas show". Works by selected artists.

Lakes District Museum, Arrowtown.
From Friday until February 28: "Showing Favourites". Historical and Contemporary Art from local private collections.

Milford Galleries, Dunedin, 18 Dowling St.
Until December 14: "Celebrating the Recession", by Ann Robinson.

Milford Galleries, Queenstown, 9a Earl St.
Until December 21: Glass 09 and Rebecca Harris: "The Night Before".

Moray Gallery, 55 Princes St.
Ends tomorrow: Work by James Kerr.

Nadene Milne Gallery, 16 Buckingham St, Arrowtown.
Ends tomorrow: "The Vault", by Neil Pardington.

North Otago Museum, 60 Thames St, Oamaru.
Until May 2010: "Sweat and Starch": a selection of textiles from the museum's collections.

Otago Art Society, in the OAS gallery at Dunedin Railway Station, 1st floor,
open daily 10am-4pm. "Captured Moments", works by Russell Barnett.

Otago Museum, 419 Great King St.
Until May 16, 2010: "Charles Darwin: Evolutionary Thinking", Nature Galleries, level 3, free.
Special exhibitions gallery: "West Africa: Rhythm + Spirit". Free.

Otago Settlers Museum, 31 Queens Gardens.
Ongoing: "Across the Ocean Waves", Otago immigration in the age of sail.
Until June 2010: "Willkommen to Dunedin: A History of German-speaking People in Otago".
Until February 28: "Square and Compasses: Freemasonry in New Zealand" shares the history and traditions of Freemasonry.
Until February 28: "Built to Last: Engineering in Otago".

Owaka Museum, 10 Campbell St, Owaka.
"Catlins Bound": watercolours by Fergus Sutherland .

Renaissance Gallery and Sculpture Garden, corner Junction Rd and Matai St, Ravensbourne.
Until February 24: "Summer Show". A group show of work by 20 artists.
Open: Friday, Saturday, Sundays noon-5pm Rocda Gallery, 73 Princes St.
Until December 5: "Flying my Own Way", new works by Philina den Dulk.

South Seas Gallery, 1088 Brighton Rd, Brighton.
Until February 27: "New Work", recent paintings by Ollie Crooks.

Stuart St Potters Co-operative, 14 Lower Stuart St.
Until December 6: Paddy Carr & Marion Familton.

Taieri Gallery, 123 Gordon Rd, Mosgiel.
Until February: works by photographic artist Murray Crawford.

Temple Gallery, 29 Moray Pl, Dunedin.
"Every painting is a way of saying goodbye", works by women artists including Michaela Cox, Lynda Cullen, Sarah Dolby, Mary McFarlane, Mirana Parkes, Seraphine Pick, and Heather Straka.

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