To celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday 5 September, Statistics New Zealand is releasing some facts of interest based on 2009 data.

On Father’s Day in 2009, about 140 men received a new baby as their present.

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iD Dunedin Fashion Week announced new dates for 2011 at an exclusive launch on Thursday 19 August 2010. Now in its 12^th year, this highly successful week celebrating the city’s fashion identity, creativity and distinct style will take place from 5-10 April 2011 in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Chair of iD Fashion Week Committee Susie Staley said that the fashion week dates had been moved from March to April to help attract the attendance of international guest designers and judges. 

“We are in the process of securing international guests, with some exciting announcements to be made shortly.  We would like to build on the attention iD has attracted as place on the global fashion calendar, showcasing the best emerging New Zealand and international talent. March is a challenging month for iD to secure international designers or judges due to their other fashion calendar commitments such as London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks. With this in mind we have made a commitment to announce our 2011 dates.”

Staley added that the change in dates also provides an opportunity to attract visitors to Dunedin during a shoulder season.

The iD Fashion Week Committee acknowledged ongoing support from the Dunedin City Council event funding, providing a commitment to the event over the next three years. Additional funding including a naming rights sponsor is still being sought to allow the 2011 fashion week to run to its full capacity.

The exclusive launch gave attendees a sneak preview of upcoming spring/summer fashion collections by successful Dunedin designers and retailers Carlson, Charmaine Reveley, DADA (Marie Strauss) and Waughs, and retail outlets Bellebird and White by Design. The collections were showcased by local talent from Ali McD Modelling Agency.

A complimentary Absolut Charmaine Reveley cocktail designed by Charmaine Reveley – showing another string to her creative bow – alongside canapés by award-winning Pier 24 chef Michael Coughlin made the launch a highly stimulating mix of fashion and food. 

Spot prizes at the launch were provided by Carlson, Charmaine Reveley, Life Pharmacy, Revlon and Waughs. Goodie bags were provided by Life Pharmacy.

Watch out for further details on the 2011 iD Dunedin Fashion Week and exclusive events to follow, yet to be announced.

The ‘sell out’ launch event commenced at 5.45pm on Thursday 19 August at Pier 24, St Clair Beach Resort, Dunedin.  Over 100 guests attended.

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The pop star Mariah Carey is the newest guest from “Os Independentes”, group that organizes the “Festa do Peão de Barretos” to make the opening concert of the 55^th edition of the Rodeo Festival, on August 21, Saturday.

The concert is the most expected attraction of the entire history of Barretos’ stadium. Mariah’s presence will fill all 50,000 seats available.

The singer  won the most important music industry awards, including five Grammy’s and eight American Music Awards.

She has been part of the team of great artists who have performed at the stages of the Cowboy Festival such as Garth Brooks in 1998, Allan Jackson in 1999, Reba McEntire in 2000, A-ha and Gloria Gaynor in 2002.

Oldest and largest in Latin America, the Rodeo Barretos lasts 10 days and has cultural attractions, sports and dining attractions in a complex of two million square meters.

Part of its income is donated to the Barretos’ Cancer Hospital, in Portuguese know as “Hospital do Câncer de Barretos”, reference in oncology in Brazil, which has partnerships with the Mayo Clinic, MD Anderson and St. Judes Hospital.

Almost a million people from all over Brazil and also from foreign countries will visit the town in August to check the show closely.

Otago Polytechnic Fashion graduate Roxanna Zamani has achieved yet another notch on her awards belt, taking out a Fashion tv Oceania Online Design Award on Monday 19^th July.

The 24 year old won first prize in the Evening Wear/Couture category, before being announced the overall prize winner for her designs, which will be showcased at the Perth Fashion Festival in September this year.

Following the completion of a Bachelor of Design (Fashion) in 2009, Ms. Zamani and Ms Hardy were first noticed when they were selected to show at the 2010 iD Dunedin Fashion Week, and the iD Dunedin Emerging Designer Awards in Dunedin.

This has been a year of fashion success for Ms. Zamani, originally from Invercargill, who recently won the Wedding Italian Style Award, in the prestigious Mittelmoda Fashion Awards, in Gorizia, Italy.

Fellow Otago Polytechnic graduate Sophie Hardy, who attended Mittelmoda, has also achieved a win at the Fashiontv Awards, taking out the Lifestyle Collections category.

Fashiontv was founded in France in 1997, and has since become one of the best distributed fashion satellite channels in the world featuring up to date and cutting edge footage, the latest fashion trends, models, parades and events.

“We are absolutely thrilled with their achievements,” said Otago Polytechnic School of Fashion Academic Leader Margo Barton.  “Roxanna and Sophie are competing at an international level and winning major awards. As young and upcoming designers, they have already made some major headway in the fashion industry.”

“This is also a strong reflection of the high calibre of design students that graduate from the Polytechnic.” 

The success of the Fashion programme mirrors the growth of Design at Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin with the School now hosting more than 500 students from around New Zealand and the world, and offering degrees in Fashion, Product, Communications and Interior Design

India is buzzing with anticipation as blockbuster Bollywood feature film I Hate Luv Storys, partly filmed in Queenstown, premieres tomorrow (Friday 2 July) in India and across the World.

Starring the latest Bollywood heart throbs Imran Khan and Sonam Kapoor, the plot revolves around a couple coming to film a ‘Bollywood love story’ in Queenstown and getting caught up in their own love story at the same time.

Tourism New Zealand Regional Manager India & South East Asia, Kiran Nambiar played a leading role himself in attracting the film-makers to New Zealand . He also spent time with the crew during filming in Queenstown to help make sure things went smoothly.

The blockbuster will showcase Queenstown and New Zealand as a visitor destination to an expected audience of 150 million during its run.

“With growth in Indian arrivals expected be modest over the coming months I Hate Luv Storys, tipped to be a Bollywood success, is a fantastic opportunity for New Zealand to increase exposure in this developing market,” says Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler.

The remake of the 1984 classic “Karate Kid” opens in Wellington on July 8th at Reading Courtney Central and a local karate school is providing free classes for all who attend the opening day.

 “There is probably no greater way to improve a child's self esteem and confidence than martial arts.” says Sean Fitzpatrick, instructor at Family Martial Arts, a Wellington based school with a highly specialised childrens program.

“That is really the message of of the original and also of this 2010 version.” Everyone who attends any screening of the film on opening day can use their ticket stub to get two weeks free karate lessons where their child will learn the three secrets to improved self confidence.

“We really want to encourage as many people as possible to go and see this film and discover for themselves how the excitement kids develop over martial arts can be channelled into developing lifeskills, behavioral breakthroughs and fitness”

“This is an opportunity for people to discover first hand the wonderful impact a quality, professionally run martial arts school can have on their family,” Fitzpatrick adds, “so they should get along to Reading Courtney Central on Thursday July 8th or if they have any other questons contact our school directly.”

Heading over the ditch for the Sydney Film Festival has proved a successful outing for BOY after it was officially announced today that BOY has won the 2010 Audience Award for Fiction Feature Film.  This is the first time in twenty years a New Zealand film has won the Audience Award at the Sydney Film Festival, since An Angel at My Table in 1990.

This impressive win is a huge boost for the Australian release of BOY in August. Two of the most successful New Zealand films to have been released in Australia were Whale Rider and Once Were Warriors and winning this award has given BOY the potential to give these films another run for their money across the Tasman, after over-taking both in the New Zealand box office charts.

BOY is likely to crack $9m at the NZ box office in the next few of weeks and the distributors are eager to motivate the NZ public that have not seen this film to do so before Australia claim it as their own!  Rumors abound that the goat will be removed from BOY and be replaced with a kangaroo, to create a more Australasian film. “Come on Kiwi’s let’s put that  box office as far out of reach of Australia as we can!” commented Transmission Films this morning.

BOY, written, directed and starring Taika Waititi is a hilarious and heartfelt coming-of-age story.  Set on the rural East Coast during the 80’s, BOY tells the tale of Boy, Rocky and their inept wannabe gangster father Alamein.  Inspired by Waititi’s Oscar-nominated Two Cars, One Night and his own childhood in Waihau Bay.  

Released through Transmission Films on 54 screens nationwide, BOY has now widened to over 75 screens throughout the country due to popular demand.

"Heroes" creator Tim Kring and Nokia today unveiled Conspiracy For Good (CFG, www.ConspiracyForGood.com), an inaugural movement that blends online and real-world tasks to effect social change through audience participation. CFG combines Kring's original storytelling (www.ConspiracyForGood.com/about) and Nokia's Ovi platform (www.ovi.com) to create a dramatic, fictional experience using interactive theatre, mobile and alternate reality gaming (ARG), music and physical participation to do good in the world.

Participants will become part of the plot development and will find the necessary tools and clues to move the narrative forward and into the real-world, ultimately creating social and educational change for the Chataika Basic School, located in the village of Chataika in eastern Zambia.  

"I believe that storytelling has the power to create positive change in the world. Audiences today want to be more involved in stories," said Tim Kring, 2010 Digital Emmy Pioneer Award winner for transmedia storytelling. "Our goal with the Conspiracy For Good is to entice, engage, and inspire the audience to drive real-world change through their participation in a narrative."

The Backstory (Fictional Plot)
Over the decades, members of Conspiracy For Good have been reputed to be quietly and effectively doing good in the world's most troubled areas. But CFG is not without enemies, and it is now under fierce attack by Blackwell Briggs (www.blackwellbriggs.com), a London-based multinational company committed to advanced infrastructure development and security services. For help, CFG turned to Kring, a master storyteller, to share their story, recruit new members to read the signs, and bring down Blackwell Briggs.

Joining the Conspiracy For Good
Participants enter into the story, which fuses reality and fiction, through www.ConspiracyForGood.com, where they will join like-minded thinkers, artists, musicians and causes, creating a unified voice to fight for social and environmental justice. The audience can take action within their own comfort zone and level of engagement to meet new people with similar interests online and in person, and have some fun too. Participants who join CFG will be able to solve mysteries online, play casual mobile games or be a physical participant in the London events that will take place from mid-July through early August.

CFG brings to life many of the experiences that Ovi, Nokia's Internet service platform, offers to people that use its devices. CFG participation on Ovi occurs through a series of existing and upcoming apps including casual games like "Exclusion" (http://tiny.cc/4ujaw) and "Mainframe Liberator" (http://tiny.cc/r9qfx) that unlock codes to confidential websites, Ovi Maps (www.ConspiracyForGood.com/map) to guide characters through the story, and Ovi Music where hidden information within songs can be deciphered to advance the story.

In the UK, participants will be able to download a special edition app called Conspiracy For Good: DeadDrop powered by Nokia's Point & Find service. Available in the UK Ovi Store (http://store.ovi.com) in mid-July, the app will allow players to point at objects and images in the real-world to discover clues and participate in challenges during the series of upcoming events in London.

"Tim Kring has truly realized the potential for Nokia's Ovi platform as an additional distribution channel to once more advance storytelling through interconnected services and active audience participation," said Tero Ojanperä, executive vice president, Nokia. "Conspiracy For Good is Nokia's most powerful example to date for how content owners can blur the lines between the online and real-world to connect people to change."

How to Join ConspiracyForGood.com
Anyone is welcome to join the conspiracy from any country. For those who live in or plan to visit London later this summer, event participation is free, registration to www.ConspiracyForGood.com is required and no purchase is necessary.

The history books are full of the champions who put New Zealand on the map and gave us an international reputation for creating ground breaking heroes.

But what about the people who don’t have their chapter in the history books? The ones whom we weren’t taught about at school?

The bumblers and the ne’er-do-wells who personify the archetypal “She’ll be right” spirit that made this country great. Finally we have their champion in Te Radar.

From the men who sparked the great Uranium Rush of the 1960’s, to New Zealand’s first aeronautical death, several years before the Wright brothers even left the earth, to the General who lost his pants and nearly doomed his army after getting lost circumnavigating Mt Taranaki, Te Radar celebrates those who tried, and more often than not failed.

With the aid of a visual presentation rich with photographs, maps, and other images, the show is a hilarious romp through the pages of our history.

Te Radar’s solo show has toured extensively around New Zealand covering both major centres and smaller towns. Recent seasons include Taupo, Auckland, KeriKeri and Greymouth.

Plain astonishing…. If you don’t choke with laughter you might learn something”.
Waikato Times.

There’s a trick to getting people laughing about cannibalism… Te Radar’s mastered it.
Taranaki Daily News

“We went out feeling proud to be New Zealanders”
Nelson Daily Mail

Te Radar’s Eating the Dog

29 Jun – 10 Jul

Times: Tue-Wed 6:30pm, Thur-Sat 8pm

Prices: $49-$25, see downstage.co.nz for detailed pricing

Matinee: Sat 3 Jul @ 4pm

Meet the Artists: Wed 30 Jun

Book online www.downstage.co.nz or by phone (04) 801 6946.

‘Judging the inaugural NZSA/Pindar Prize for an unpublished manuscript was a fascinating and challenging exercise,’reports novelist and short story writer Graeme Lay, one of the three judges of the award. The other two judges were Mia Yardley, Editorial Manager of Pindar New Zealand and Linda Herrick, Arts and Books editor of the New Zealand Herald.

There were 508 entries for the competition, which was open to a manuscript in any genre. ‘As a result of this inclusive entry criterion,’ Graeme Lay says, ‘every genre was represented, including adult fiction, children’s fiction, poetry and non-fiction. The diversity was amazing.’

Entrants were required to submit a synopsis and a sample of their writing, not the entire manuscript. For example, the sample could have been the first two chapters of a novel, two short stories or 15 poems. The judges were not aware of the identity of any of the entrants.

When they met to draw up a long list of finalists, the judges were struck by the quality of the writing. It was extremely difficult to decide on the final five, as several of the long-listed manuscripts were of a publishable standard.

After the five finalists were selected, the judges read the entire manuscript for each of them.

The final five manuscripts were all adult fiction. Why was this so?

Graeme Lay comments: ‘Quality fiction has an emotional force which is seldom found in non-fiction. Although there were strong non-fiction manuscripts – accounts of illness and family histories, for example – the five adult fiction manuscripts carried the day because their plots were gripping, their characters engrossing and their settings vividly evoked. The element of dramatic conflict which is essential to worthwhile fiction was constantly present in the narratives.’

The five finalists were: Surrender by Donna Malane, Even the Trees Are Bent, by Paul Maunder, What You Wish For, by Catherine Robertson, Tomorrow’s Rain, by Eric Smart and Chasing the Moon, by Anne Stubbings.

And what did these five narratives contain? ‘There were two crime novels,’ Graeme Lay states, ‘one set in Wellington and the other on the South Island ’s west coast. There was a novel about a romance novelist determined to break free from the genre, an episodic novel based on a series of encounters in Egypt and one set during the genocidal war between the Hutus and the Tutsis in 1990s Rwanda .’

The samples of the five finalists were also posted online and voting was invited via the internet, as the basis for a Readers’ Choice Award.

Meanwhile, the judges read and re-read the final five until the winner was decided upon: Donna Malane’s Surrender, a murder mystery set in contemporary Wellington .

Graeme Lay observes:

‘We were all impressed by the forcefulness of Donna’s plot, the vividness of her writing and the resilience of her central character. She was also able to interweave elements of humour into the narrative’s brutality and mystery.’

The plot of Surrender involves a woman’s quest to find the identity of her much-loved young sister’s killer. In doing so she becomes embroiled in Wellington ’s underworld and its lethal intrigues. A parallel narrative involves the identity ofa headless male body, found by a tramper in a cave in Wellington ’s hinterland.

The judges all agreed that Surrender was a crime novel of high quality, one which could hold its own in international company. Co-judge Linda Herrick comments: ‘’The narrative included a convincing sense of place; you felt that the writer knew Wellington and its environs very well, and this added to the novel’s feeling of authenticity.

The characters were well drawn, particularly the female lead, but peripheral characters also rang true. The writing was crisp and compelling, driving the narrative along at a great pace towards the climax. And co-judge Mia Yardley concludes,

‘Surrender is a worthy addition to the growing catalogue of New Zealand crime fiction.’

The manuscript will go into production immediately and will be published in August. The sponsors for the award will all contribute to the publication of Surrender.

The New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc.) will provide editorial services; Pindar NZ will manage the production, including design and typesetting; and the book will be printed by Astra Print. The New Zealand Herald will promote Surrender and will offer half-price vouchers to its readers to purchase the book; while Whitcoulls will provide promotion and distribution throughout New Zealand .

The president of the Society of Authors, Tony Simpson, remarks, ’the level of sponsorship for this award has been amazing, and we are proud to have been one of the instigators of this prize, along with Pindar NZ. Without the support of our sponsors this prize would never have happened.’

In the online voting for the NZSA/Pindar Publishing Prize, the Readers’ Choice Award was won by Chasing the Moon, by Anne Stubbings, who wins $300 worth of book tokens, donated by Whitcoulls.