Board Games by the Bay – Hamilton 23 -24 February 2019

What

Board Games By The Bay (BGBTB) is a series of epic tabletop gaming events run each year in New Zealand. Since 2011, these weekend events have brought together the community to learn and play modern board, card and dice games in a friendly, social environment.

These events bring together enthusiasts and players new to the scene in a relaxed, fun environment.  Participants enjoy catching up with old friends and making new ones, trying out different games or relaxing with familiar ones, and entering the free competitions. Numbers are growing with each event, and we’re expecting to fill our venues to the brim in 2018.  It’s always great to see so many old friends and newcomers, experienced gamers and families showing up, and we’re looking forward to seeing YOU this time around.

There will be a library stocked with all kinds of games for you to try, and many people bring their own games and invite others to join them.  You are most welcome to bring your own games along.  We have a team of great volunteers (our friendly RedShirts) who are experts at teaching a wide variety of games to new players.

When and Where

10am – 10pm Saturday 23 February 2019
10am – 6pm Sunday 24 February 2019

Hamilton Bridge Club
20 Richmond St
Hamilton

How Much

Pre-Registration Prices

One Day Pass $13
Weekend Pass $24
Annual Pass (all events in 2019) $68

Door Price

One Day Pass $15
Weekend Pass $30

More

Board Games by The Bay Website
Registration for the February Hamilton Event

Stargazing Lab – Auckland – 22 December 2018

What

JOIN US UNDER THE STARS FOR A NIGHT OF STARGAZING.

The first session starts before the sunset in order to explain very basic concepts about astronomy, telescopes, and photography. After that, you will have opportunities to observe the craters and mountains on the Moon, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot and the rings of Saturn.
You will also have a chance to observe deep sky objects like star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies.

The sessions will target different objects and topics every day. Since these events are weather dependent, on occasions we may need to postpone the event at short notice. If this happens, you will receive a txt message in your mobile, one hour prior to the event, and your booking will be transferred to the next available session.

Even though the sessions end late, these activities are family friendly and ideal for kids. You will have a nice opportunity to learn more about the solar system and the Universe, and also to motivate interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) in young minds. Some telescopes and additional resources will be available for use. Including telescopes that can be operated by kids.

We will help you to identify bright stars and major constellations. During each observing session, we will teach participants to find those elusive patterns in the sky with a simple monthly star map and a green laser pointer that projects a visible beam into the sky. Just like at a planetarium but under the real night sky!

Code of Conduct

In order to insure safety, protect equipment and to enhance everyone enjoyment, we ask that you follow the Code of Conduct:

  • Pets are not permitted nearby the telescopes.
  • Smoking and alcoholic beverages are never permitted within the area.
  • Minors under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times.
  • Aerosol bug spray repellent may only be applied away from the telescopes. (Sprays produce a fine mist which can settle on optical surfaces and is very difficult to clean.)
  • Remove any trash and keep the premises clean.
  • Visitors should bring a flashlight with RED light to use for the walk from the parking lot to the observation area and for reading star maps.

When and Where

22 December 2018
9:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Maraetai Beach,
Maraetai Coast Rd, Maraetai, Auckland

Stargazing Labs are taking place from Maraetai Beach, Maraetai, at just 40 minutes from the Auckland CBD. This beautiful location offers stunning views of the night sky and low light pollution coming from the city. This is key to allow long-term expositions to capture amazing pictures of the deep sky objects like nebulae and galaxies.

There are four public parking (free) available (+40 cars capacity) and public toilets close to the observation area.

How Much

$0 – $16.09
Under 5 yrs: free
Child (5 – 15 yrs): $10+fees.
General Admission: $15 + fees.

Please book here.

More

Stargazing Lab, Eventbrite event and Facebook event.
Organised by Skylabs http://skylabs.co.nz/

Pop Kultcha – Auckland – 15 December 2018

What

Returning by popular demand, Pop Kultcha will have tables of both new and pre-loved goodies, toys, action figures, comics and more!

Expect more of the same and a bit of the new as we prepare ourselves for pop culture goodness.

Please note we have changed venues from the Rose Centre to the Ellerslie War Memorial Hall. As updates and posts will be added please watch and like this event page.

When and Where

Ellerslie War Memorial Hall,
138 Main Highway,
Ellerslie,
Auckland

Saturday 15 Dec 2018,
10am – 3pm

 

How Much

Family Pass: $10.00
Adults: $5.00
Door Sales Only

More

Facebook Page
Eventfinda Page

KapCon 28, role playing convention – Wellington – 19-20 January 2019

What

What is KapCon?

KapCon is a not-for-profit role-playing game convention run annually in Wellington, New Zealand, every January. Over a hundred people get together for a weekend of role-playing, in a diverse range of styles and systems. Over the weekend, more than 30 individual games are run, with volunteer GMs (or storytellers, narrators or facilitators) running games between one and six times over the course of the convention.

There are seven rounds of gaming – each lasting 3 hours. Most games have pre-generated characters for the players to use, and some even have props, soundtracks, links to other games, or live action elements (where players act out the less dangerous parts of the story). Between rounds there’s time to chat, meet or catch up with people, and get some much needed snack food. There’s usually some snack food available on-site, and there’s always the dairy and fish-and-chip shop nearby.

If you have a favourite game that you want to play in, you can let us know in advance and we’ll try to find someone to run it – if you love Paranoia, Call of Cthulhu, D&D, PbtA, or any other system, send us an email and we’ll see what we can do. Also for the last few years some wonderful people have offered the Games On Demand stream, where players come in, vote for the games they want to play form a selection available, and one of the team runs the game for them. This is a great way to try out some of those games you may have heard of, but never been able to get your group to play.

After the third round on the Saturday, there’s a LARP. A LARP is a Live Action Role-Playing game – one where you wear a costume, and stay in character at all times. The style of LARPs we have at Kapcon tend not to use foam weapons or complicated mechanics – it’s all about being in character, finding out what’s going on, achieving your goals and having fun. In recent years the Saturday night LARP has grown from 50 to 85 players. There is a dedicated team of writers who volunteer each year to put together the LARP, and it is due to their tireless work that it’s so much fun!

When and Where

Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th of January 2019
Note: Monday 21st is a statutory holiday for Wellington workers and can be used for recovery

Wellington High School
249 Taranaki St
Mt Cook
Wellington

How Much

Full Player                      $30
First Time Attendee      $20
Facilitator (GM)            $20
Single Day Attendance  $20
Adventure Squad Only  $10
Live Game Only             $10

$5 discount for Full Player, First Time Attend, Facilitator or Single Day Attendance if paid prior to 14/01/2019

More

Information about Kapcon 28 and registration

 

Movie Night: Overlord – Auckland – 17 November 2018

What

JJ Abrams, director of a couple of my favourite movies including the Cloverfield series, Star Trek, and Super 8, brings us a WWII movie with a twist. As if war wasn’t horror enough, what if there’s a supernatural element to it? Join the Auckland Horror Club to check it out!

**NOTE: This meetup is movie only and it will be the late show. Theatre to be determined. There is no restriction on number of people. We will also be going to dinner beforehand, but I will post that meetup the week of with the location and time.

What we’re about

Horror movie lovers rejoice! Have you been searching for people to share the enjoyment of sitting down and watching flicks from this infamous genre? Let’s get together to watch the good, the bad, and the ugly of all things horror! Feel free to post movie ideas, or anything else horror related that might be interesting.

When and Where

Saturday, 17 Novemeber 2018
9pm – 11pm

Event Cinemas Broadway
77 Broadway
Newmarket, Auckland

How Much

Normal movie fee

More

Movie Night: Overlord Meetup page
Auckland Horror Club Meetup Group

Out West Model Expo – Auckland – 17-18 November 2018

What

The Auckland Marklin Club presents a model expo for enthusiasts and all the family.

There will be 16 model train layouts from clubs throughout the region and from as far south as Bulls, making it the biggest train show in Auckland this year. Some layouts will be huge, spanning many metres and passing specially built scenes. The locomotives in operation range in size from a few centimetres to half a metre, reproducing the greatest machines of the world’s railways. Others will be small and intimate, table top size, with lots of fine detail. Children will be able to operate a table top train to see how it’s done.

Other types of modelling will be represented. The Auckland Meccano Guild will have a display. Mini-4WD vehicles will race in threes around a large circuit.

Trade stands will be there to supply modelling materials and enable any one to get started in their hobby. The Helensville Railway Museum will have a display.

Refreshments will be provided by Love Soup, with proceeds helping its charitable work in providing meals at community centres.

Pedestrian entry to the venue is from Te Atatu Road or from the carpark at the rear of the Centre. To get to the carpark, turn from Te Atatu Rd into Harbour View Rd at the roundabout, then take the first right into Sail Rock Rd.

Payment by EFTPOS or credit card will be accepted as well as cash.

You may have already been to one of our shows held at Waiuku, Devonport, Whangaparaoa and Westgate. This will be by far our biggest show yet.

When and Where

Saturday 17 Nov 2018, 10am – 4:30pm
Sunday 18 Nov 2018, 10am – 4:30pm

Te Atatu Peninsula Community Centre,
595 Te Atatu Rd,
Te Atatu Peninsula,
Auckland

How Much

Adult: $8
Child: $4
Family: $17

More

Out West Model Expo on Eventfinda
The Auckland Marklin Club

The Very Vintage Day Out – Auckland – 3-4 November 2018

What

This event includes many elements of the vintage era predominantly between the 40s and 60s. VVDO 2018 has a full programme of entertainment for the weekend including live bands, car displays, military display, makeovers, fashion shows, high tea as well as loads vendors on site selling a huge range of vintage-inspired and retro products.

Be there for the crowning of the 19 Black Miss Pin Up New Zealand 2018, and join in the fun by entering The Very Vintage Photo Safari, the Very Vintage Bake Off or perhaps the new Dress Making competition.

Make sure you get your glad rags on to be in to win The Best Dressed prizes.
Lovers of all things vintage-inspired will come together once more to celebrate a by-gone era.

When and Where

10am – 4pm Saturday 3 November 2018
10am – 4pm Sunday 4 November 2018

ASB Showgrounds
217 Greenlane West
Epsom
Auckland

How Much

Single day pass: $22
2 Day pass: $38
High Tea: $37
Glam Sessions: $12

$5 transaction fee

More

Website – The Very Vintage day out

eBike Expo – Aucland – 10-11 November 2018

What

This the only New Zealand expo dedicated to electric bikes that brings retailers, distributors and infrastructure enablers together under one roof. It will provide you with the opportunity to connect with all the experts in one place. Which in turn will help you complete your research, take test rides, make purchase decisions and have your e-bike built and fitted for you.

The focus of this event is promotion of e-bikes. So whether you want to learn to ride an e-bike, get to know the Auckland cycleways on an e-bike, or simply shop around, this expo is able to provide you with the activity that you need.

The expo is a two day event with a range of distributors, retailers and all things e-bike.

We will show you that there is an e-bike for you! 

When and Where

Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 November 2018
9am – 4:30pm

The Cloud
Queen’s Wharf
CBD
Auckland

How Much

$5 per Adult/Child
$15 per Family

More

eBike Expo website

Refactor – Auckland – 21 November 2018

What

Wahoo! It’s the last Refactor for the year. We’re so excited to welcome speakers Natasha Lampard, Uttara Nataraj and Vic Jack. We’re back at the amazing Warren & Mahoney studio in Wynyard Quarter. Read on to learn more or grab your ticket now!

Speaker Profiles

Natasha Lampard

Natasha Lampard (@tashmahal) is the co-founder and director of Webstock; co-founder of Lil Regie and creator of Extraordinary Tales of Strength & Daring. Natasha fell in love with the web and its possibilities in 1999 and has been working on it in various capacities, ever since. She now wears a number of hats including event manager, designer, writer, usability advocate and entrepreneur. She loves soup, the work of Joan Hickson as Miss Marple and the creation of delightful spaces – both online and IRL.

Uttara Nataraj

Uttara (Utts) is currently working as an Agency Development Manager at Google NZ, where she works with New Zealand’s top independent agencies and their small to medium business clients, to help them grow using Google products. Utts is an Engineer by background (she studied Engineering Science and The University of Auckland) and prior to Google was working in Management Consulting at EY for six years across Sydney and Auckland. Over this time she worked on numerous projects across various industry sectors including: FMCG, Retail, Media, Real Estate, Airlines, Government and Power & Utilities. Utts is also a big advocate of mentoring and has been a mentor for the UoA Business School Women’s Mentoring Programme for the past two years. On the weekends you’ll likely find Utts exploring art galleries and eating her way around Auckland!

Vic Jack

Vic has a background in advertising and design from London and was part of the digital boom in the late 90’s where she worked as UX Designer. And advocate for life-learning she returned to University in 2014 to complete a Masters in Design. She works on projects that embrace systems thinking and sustainable business practices that provide real social impact. A future thinker, Vic has a comprehensive knowledge of nascent technologies that include blockchain technology, IOT, AI and machine learning. She is a strong advocate of decentralised technology that provides us with the mechanism to have increased control and sovereignity over our own data. She is the founder of Maslow, a boutique recruitment agency that focuses on attracting, engage and retaining women into positions of management and leadership inside the creative and tech industries.

When and Where

Wednesday 21 November 2018, 6-8:30pm

Warren & Mahoney Architects
139 Pakenham Street West

How Much

Tickets $25 – open to all. Buy tickets.

More

Refactor: Auckland November 2018.

Refactor’s Code of Conduct and a Privacy Policy.

 

 

The Ethics of The Future of Work and AI – Auckland / Wellington – 14-15 November 2018

What

Who is going to teach the robots manners?

Humans are inherently bias and as AI is developed how do we prevent the biases, already existing within society, being reinforced in technology?

Algorithms were supposed to free us from our unconscious mistakes but now there is a new set of problems to solve.

How do we address the potential for discrimination in an incredibly complex environment that is already quietly embedded in our personal lives and in some of the most powerful institutions on Earth?

Join The Institute of Management New Zealand and our incredible panel as we discuss the Ethics of AI and the Future of Work, the conscious and unconscious bias’s that exist in our organisations and why we need diversity of thought to make the most of our tomorrows.

Our panelists are:
– Rachel Kelly – most recently the founder of Ethical AI, a company intersecting artificial intelligence and moral psychology to tackle AI corruption and global data protection.

– Tim Warren – co-founder of Ambit – an enterprise Conversational AI platform as well as an investor in over 20 early stage companies.

– Shireen Chua – Director of Third Culture Solutions, facilitating organisational development to turn diverse teams into highly performing ones.

4:30pm – 5:30pm Networking
5:30pm – 7:30pm Panel

When and Where

Auckland

Wednesday 14 November 2018
4:30pm – 7:30pm

BNZ Partners Business Centre,
Level 7, 80 Queen St,
CBD, Auckland

Wellington

Thursday 15 November 2018
4:30pm – 7:30pm

Wellington Partners Centre,
1 Victoria St,
Wellington

How Much

Early Bird   $25
General       $30

More

The Ethics of The Future of Work and AI website and registration