Wellington

The region in and around Wellington has been filmed for the movies, so much so that the eastern suburb of Miramar has been dedicated for the same purpose and has been touted with the name "Wellywood", which is a combination of the American "Hollywood" and Wellington itself. The area has been chosen by the filmmakers such as Sir Peter Jackson and Sir Richard Taylor. The famous Weta Workshop and the Weta Cave are also Jackson's companies.

Some of the recent popular films shot here include Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit, the Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong and Avatar etc. Wellington itself has several independent cinemas, which include The Embassy, Paramount, Penthouse, the Roxy and Light House etc.

Wellington is also responsible for producing big brand music bands like The Mockers, The Warratahs, Shihad, Beastwars, Fly My Pretties, The Phoenix Foundation, Rhian Sheehan, Birchville Cat Motel, Black Boned Angel, The Black Seeds, Fur Patrol, Flight of the Conchords, Connan Mockasin, Rhombus and Module, Fat Freddy's Drop, Weta, Demoniac etc.

On the theatre arts front, Wellington is a supreme patron of performing arts and is home to theatres like BATS Theatre, Circa Theatre, Whitireia Performance Centre, National Dance & Drama School Toi Whakaari etc. There are also several dance schools, and the city has produced some of the world's best comics like Ginette McDonald ("Lyn of Tawa"), Raybon Kan, Ben Hurley, Dai Henwood, Steve Wrigley, Guy Williams etc.

Wellingtonians celebrate a horde of festivals and take part in various events. However, most of their prime festivals and fairs are biennial. Among the top festivals celebrated in town are - New Zealand International Arts Festival, Jazz Festival, Capital E National Arts Festival for Children etc., all three of which are biennial.

Other events are Brancott Estate World of Wearable Art, TEDxWellington, Cuba Street Carnival, New Zealand Fringe Festival, New Zealand International Comedy Festival, Summer City, Visa Wellington on a Plate, The Wellington Folk Festival, New Zealand Affordable Art Show, Out In The Square, the New Zealand Sevens Weekend and Parade, Vodafone Homegrown, the Couch Soup theatre festival, Camp A Low Hum in addition to several film festivals and programmes.

There is also the Artsplash Festival, celebrated annually by the students. This week-long festival majorly includes students and involves music and dance performances and the presentation of visual arts. Not to mention, there are delicacies prepared,, and the event is carried out with great pomp and show with ample food and drinks.