Kia ora one and all!
We are holding a Mini – Faire Fundraiser at the Mussel Inn in Onekaka, Golden Bay on 9th May 2026 from 11am.
In the daytime you will find all your Living Wood Fair favorites from workshops and talks to demonstrations, live music and fun-filled kids activities. In the evening we have a full line up of music from Kadra Kadabra, Sika, Ism_music and Optimus Gryme.
Buy your workshop tickets and Night time music tickets here!
Daytime
The daytime is koha entry, come and find out more about the Living Wood Fair, watch the demonstrations, listen to the talks, do a workshop, buy some timber from our auction, connect with wonderful people who are passionate about all things wood: from growing trees, to crafting and building. A fun day out for all the family with kids activities and live musical ‘bardsโ to entertain you. The Mussel Inn will be operating as usual so enjoy an iconic drink and some food while you delight in the festivities.
Want to learn about Steam bending, brush making, spoon carving or traditional timber framing? We have four fantastic facilitators sharing their knowledge with these wonderful hands-on workshops. Full details of the workshops below, book your workshop ticket online to reserve your spot.
Meow Makes Stuff has designed our new merchandise and will be selling our stunning new t-shirts, you can also bring your own blank t-shirt or hoodie to be printed with our unique design right there at the event! Must be 80%+ cotton.
Night time
HEADLINING: Optimus Gryme
A true heavyweight of Aotearoaโs bass music movement, Charlie B / Optimus Gryme has spent more than two decades pushing the sound system culture of New Zealand forward. From hosting NZโs only nationwide TV show dedicated entirely to drum & bass, to serving as drum and bass editor for a national music magazine, to championing 100% NZ electronic music on the airwaves โ his contribution to the scene is immense.
Heโs collaborated with some of the countryโs most respected artists and bands, including Shapeshifter, Tiki Taane, Truth, Six60, Dub FX, The Upbeats and Shihad, and made history by releasing New Zealandโs first-ever dubstep record.
Heโs collaborated with some of the countryโs most respected artists and bands, including Shapeshifter, Tiki Taane, Truth, Six60, Dub FX, The Upbeats and Shihad, and made history by releasing New Zealandโs first-ever dubstep record.
With 1000+ shows across 25 years festival stages, massive crowds, and a legacy that has shaped the sound of bass music in Aotearoa, this is not one to miss.
Expect heavyweight frequencies, deep bass pressure, and a master at the controls.
Ism_music
With a career spanning over two decades and a constellation of solo aliases and collaborative projects โ organikismness, Soulware, Ism, Salmonella Dub, NME, DJ Fiction, and Dirty Harry โ Harry Bretherton stands as a true architect of Aotearoaโs underground electronic sound.
Taking to the stage in a live capacity, Haz invites the audience into a rich, bass-driven journey where organic textures, deep rhythms, and soulful frequencies converge. This is not simply a set, but a carefully woven sonic experience โ one that bridges the tactile warmth of live performance with the expansive possibilities of electronic music.
Taking to the stage in a live capacity, Haz invites the audience into a rich, bass-driven journey where organic textures, deep rhythms, and soulful frequencies converge. This is not simply a set, but a carefully woven sonic experience โ one that bridges the tactile warmth of live performance with the expansive possibilities of electronic music.
Renowned for his genre-fluid approach and intuitive storytelling through sound, Haz crafts immersive landscapes that are as emotive as they are powerful. His music doesnโt just move bodies โ it stirs something deeper.
Sika
Based in Golden Bay and with a career spanning decades, Sika is a true pioneer of immersive sound. His music draws from a vast palette of instrumentsโdidgeridoo, percussion, native flutes, voice, and taonga pลซoroโwoven together with a deep reverence for the natural world. The result is a sound that feels ancient and grounded, yet alive with contemporary energy.
For this special fundraiser evening, Sika shifts into a more dancefloor-focused mode, offering a set that is rich in rhythm, groove, and movement. Expect earthy basslines, tribal textures, and hypnotic layers that build and evolveโguiding the crowd from attentive listening into full-bodied dance.
Kabra Kadabra
Kabra Kadabra is a lively local gypsy-folk trio weaving together the musical threads of the Balkans and beyond. Fronted by Golden Bay vocalist Hera Livingston, joined by the rhythmically nimble acoustic guitar of Rye Morgan and a rotating cast of musical friends on percussion, this spirited ensemble brings the fiery pulse of Eastern European folk traditions to life.
Expect dramatic melodies, hypnotic rhythms and songs steeped in the timeless themes of love, longing, moonlit revelry and wild dancing. Their repertoire draws on traditional Balkan music โ the kind that has stirred hearts and feet for generations โ alongside a few unexpected detours (yesโฆ perhaps even a musical journey to Mexico!).
You may not understand a single word, but that hardly matters โ the rhythms speak for themselves. Before long the music has a way of working its magic, pulling listeners out of their seats and onto the dance floor.
Workshops
Hamish McClatchy: Steaming, Bending and Forming Wood
Hamish McClatchy has been experimenting with timber for decades. The most recent manifestation of this is through his successful boutique lamp company: Faye Williams Lamps, creating exquisite steam bent wooden pendants mimicking the shapes and patterns found in nature using specialist local timbers.
Workshop Description
Learn all about steam bending whilst giving a go: understand the best timbers to use, how to prepare the wood, health and safety whilst steaming and how to apply and clamp the steamed timber to a form, to create your desired shape.
11.15am – 12.15pm or 12.30pm – 1.30pm, 1 hour workshop, $65/ per person: Book here
Gemma Stratton: Brush making
Gemmaโs resourceful, utilitarian and Sculptural background has led her to the wonderful world of Brush making. Self taught she combines Green wood working and weaving techniques to assemble a wide range of Brushware in her workshop. These handy hand made Brushes and brooms bring joy to all sorts of tasks. The most satisfyingly thing about making brushes is sweeping up the mess youโve made making Brushes.
Workshop Description
Learn how to make a small Versatile brush using locally sourced wood and fibre. Starting by twining a fine thread of Tฤซ Kลuka cord , this workshop also shares techniques of Fibre preparation, drilling, and a handy lash. The brush you will leave with is useful in many ways including in the kitchen for oiling pans, in the workshop for oiling woodwork, for applying slip to pottery and for children’s water and colour painting.
12pm – 2pm, 2 hour workshop, $100/ per person: Book here
Graeme Scott: Basic Traditional Timber Framing
Graeme Scott has been working with timber since he was a boy. For more than 2 decades he has been dedicated to crafting timber into beautiful structures, specialising in traditional timber frame or post and beam construction.
Workshop Description
Learn how to connect wood with no metal fixings by creating a mortise and tenon joint with a locking hard wood peg or tree nail. You will be taught how to measure and cut a tenon, drill a mortice to house the tenon perfectly and secure the joint with a peg.
3pm – 5pm, 2 hour workshop, $100/ per person: Book here
Julian Briggs: Spoon Carving
Julian is a tree geek and has spent his life working with trees and wood, as an arborist, a carpenter, and a woodsman, developing a deep relationship with the living landscape and the materials it gives. Rooted in the cultural heritage of Northern England, the traditional arts of coppicing and bodgery, his spoon carving workshops offer a hands-on journey into the age old craft of whittling.
Workshop Description
Learn how to carve a spoon that you’ll use for life.
You will be taught how to select the right piece of timber for each project, the best species to use, moisture content for easy carving, and safe use of knives and gouges. 8 years +
11.30am – 2.30pm, 3 hour workshop, $100/ per person: Book here
We are holding this event is to raise funds for a main Living Wood Fair event in April 2027. Come and support this wonderful community event, be inspired by the talented craftspeople, the knowledge sharing and dance the night away!
May the forest be with you.
Living Wood Fair 