UP Planet Blog | Unlimited Potential

Innovators Online Again

Posted on Saturday 1st July 2017 at

It seems like half a lifetime ago that myself and Annick Janson established New Zealand’s first online community for innovators and entrepreneurs (ION). It was a clunky PHP forum site that we...

Review: Oiko’s Hellenic Cuisine, Miramar

Posted on Friday 30th June 2017 at

Oiko’s is the new Greek Restaurant, in the the southern most southest part of Miramar, on the 2 bus route, and close to the cycle tunnel. This is firmly in Greek territory of Wellington. The...

Preview: Black Grace – As Night Falls

Posted on Thursday 22nd June 2017 at

Following a sold-out Auckland season in 2016, and a 10-centre tour of the United States, Black Grace and Tour-Makers are proud to tour the critically acclaimed As Night Falls to seven national...

Preview: The Mooncake and the Kūmara

Posted on Monday 19th June 2017 at

A man and a woman stand next to each other underneath a row of round lanterns.

Layered with myth and fable, The Mooncake and the Kūmara is a moving story about a mixed-up, Māori-Chinese love affair that sprouts among rows of potatoes. Told in a mixture of English,...

Preview: Fire in the water, fire in the sky

Posted on Wednesday 14th June 2017 at

Told through movement, dance and text, this is a modern statement on climate change, colonisation and Christianity across the Pacific Rim. It’s an untangling of the greatest collision to have...

#WellyTech 2017 Get Together - A Connection Starter

Posted on Monday 12th June 2017 at

On the back of the highly successful NZ Rise TechWeek “Who Is IT Wellington” event, some internal discussion at NZ Rise and an ever increasing desire to bring together as many of the #WellyTech...

Preview: The Māori Sidesteps

Posted on Monday 12th June 2017 at

Rob Mokaraka, Cohen Holloway, Erroll Anderson, Jerome Leota, and Jamie McCaskill as The Māori Sidesteps.

The newest and naughtiest Maori showband on the Aotearoa entertainment scene plays at BATS Theatre during the Kia Mau Festival. Self described as “Funny Māoris with funny songs” this...

Preview: The Purple Onion

Posted on Monday 12th June 2017 at

The Purple Onion peeps into the world of Wellington’s infamous burlesque parlour as part of the Kia Mau Festival. Established in the mid 1960s, the Purple Onion was Wellington’s premiere...

Preview: Riverside Kings

Posted on Friday 9th June 2017 at

Man shown wrapping his hands ready for boxing

Riverside Kings opens in Upper Hutt today and plays in BATS Theatre next week as part of the Kia Mau Festival. The creators Sarita So and Natano Keni, describe it as “a physical weaving of...

3 Steps To Connecting With Me On LinkedIn

Posted on Tuesday 6th June 2017 at

I love that you want to “Connect with me on LinkedIn” but there needs to be a bit more for me to accept.1) Tell me whySimply asking to connect ain’t enough - let me know why, is it for a...

Review: Three days in the country

Posted on Friday 2nd June 2017 at

Set against the backdrop of 1850’s Russia. Serfs (aka slaves) still work the land under the estate holder’s control. Reform is coming and the country is restless. Rakitin is visiting his...

Accelerators In Government, What Do I Think Of Them?

Posted on Wednesday 31st May 2017 at

I have been involved, in one way or another, with a number of “accelerators” both inside and outside of government. Most notably I was part of the inaugural contingent to the R9 Accelerator...

Preview: Kia Mau Festival

Posted on Wednesday 31st May 2017 at

New Zealand’s only contemporary indigenous theatre and dance event Kia Mau Festival returns to Wellington from Friday 2 – Saturday 24 June. It’s a unique and innovative opportunity for...

BATS fundraiser preview -White Rabbit Red Rabbit

Posted on Tuesday 30th May 2017 at

A hand making the peace sign with a nose and whiskers drawn on to make it look like a rabbit

BATS is bringing the “audacious theatrical experiment“ White Rabbit Red Rabbit to Wellington for a fundraising season. Written by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour, the play...

DCM Bookfair dates & donations

Posted on Monday 29th May 2017 at

The day of the 2017 DCM Bookfair is Set. Set aside time for book foraging on Saturday August 5th from 8am till 8pm, at Shed 6 in Queens Wharf. Want to donate books to DCM’s Bookfair on 5...

TechWeek 2017 - Two Initial Thoughts

Posted on Tuesday 16th May 2017 at

I was asked two questions about the Access Granted road-trip we did for TechWeek 2017 - here’s my responses (let me know if you spot them in the wild as well 1) What was one of the highlights...

Review: Olive Copperbottom

Posted on Friday 12th May 2017 at

Penny Ashton presents a new musical inspired by the writings of Charles Dickens as part of Comedy Festival 2017. Olive, a beautiful virtuous orphan, teaches the younger orphans at Mrs...

Shape of the Suburbs

Posted on Thursday 11th May 2017 at

Last weekend a friend asked on Twitter whether anyone had made a New Zealand equivalent of this poster of London boroughs, which took the outlines of the boroughs out of context by arranging...

Win a double pass to the 2017 Food Show in Wellington!

Posted on Wednesday 10th May 2017 at

We’ve written before about the Food Show and how it’s basically Rex Manning Day for people who like to try lots of food and taste a lot of wine. If you’re looking for ways to fire up your...

Preview: LUX festival

Posted on Wednesday 10th May 2017 at

The containers are starting to appear on the wharf – the LUX light festival is back and opens Friday night! Festival director Mary Laine says they’re exploring some new ways of doing...