Uniquely Nelson

Join a team of volunteers helping at aid stations, trail and road marshaling or registration. Be part of this unique multi-day running festival.

Simply get in touch with Sirena at [email protected], and she’ll find a role that works for you.

The Spectacle

We’re on the hunt for our 2026 volunteer legends! 🙌

It’s our incredible team of volunteers who have helped bring The Spectacle to life over the past two years, and this year we’re looking for almost 200 legends to help make it happen again!

To say a huge THANK YOU for giving up your time and energy, every volunteer will receive a Spectacle volunteer tee - so you can look the part while cheering, directing, supporting and generally making race-day magic happen!

If you’ve got the time and capacity to volunteer this year, we’d love to hear from you.

Simply get in touch with Sirena at [email protected], and she’ll find a role that works for you.

Cherry Blossom Festival – This Weekend

This spring, Nelson will celebrate a momentous milestone with our sister city, Miyazu, marking 50 years of friendship, cultural exchange and connection between the two cities.
Nelson Miyazu Sister City Association Chairperson Linley Smith says it is wonderful to be celebrating 50 years of the sister city relationship.
“This friendship was started due to the similarities between the Nelson Boulder Bank and the Miyazu sand bridge Amanohashidate and has endured over the years thanks to successive mayors from both cities and the dedicated sister city association members.”
Five decades later, that friendship has grown into one of New Zealand’s longest-standing sister city relationships. The milestone will be celebrated at this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival at Miyazu Garden on Saturday 26 September, from 11am to 3pm.
Click on the link on bio or comment to read more...

Nelson Miyazu Sister City AssociationNelson City Council Nelson City Presents

Nelson Clay Week Returns to Celebrate Aotearoa’s Thriving Ceramics Community

Nelson Clay Week attracts hundreds of potters and ceramicists to Nelson for a series of exhibitions, workshops and events, to exchange techniques and ideas, and to show their work.
As a biennial event, Hiwa (Arts Council Nelson) is working with Creative Directors Jamie Smith and Tom Baker to create a celebration of pottery, as a craft, an artform and an industry that has had a massive impact on Nelson and New Zealand since the 1950s.
“Nelson has long been a centre for pottery, and we are embracing and sharing the creative knowledge, expertise and passion to nourish and inspire the current and future generations,” said Hiwa Project Manager Andy Meldrum.
“Nelson Clay Week brings together some of the country’s best potters, to teach, and to take part in the workshops. This year, we also welcome some international guests, extending our reach, and cementing this event as one of the country’s essential art gatherings.”
“As the third Clay Week, we know that pottery has broad appeal, and we look forward to welcoming everyone to our free events. We’re particularly enthusiastic about this year’s Potters Square at upper Trafalgar Street, which will have demonstrations every day, as well as the opportunity for everyone to make clay animals.”

Nelson Clay Week Hiwa Tāwera - Your Art Space

Nelson Clay Week Returns to Celebrate Aotearoa’s Thriving Ceramics Community - Uniquely Nelson Nelson Shopping Now Made Easier. Shop to you drop in Nelson City. Take time to enjoy boutique shopping, retail designer fashions, amazing arts & crafts, great cafés & restaurants & the world-famous markets. Nelson City's boutique shopping experience is like no other in New Zealand. Check out the ne...

Experience the sanctuary after dark – 25% OFF

When the sun goes down, the forest comes alive. Step beyond the gates and join us for A Night in the Forest — a guided night-time adventure.
- Discover glowing glowworms
- Hear the sounds of the nocturnal forest
- Listen for the distinctive call of kiwi
- Experience the forest in a whole new way
Along the way, discover the story behind the Sanctuary’s conservation work and how we’re helping restore native forest and protect some of Aotearoa’s most precious wildlife.
GET 25% OFF Book your night tour in September or October 2026 and use code NIGHT25 at checkout. New bookings only.
Every booking helps support the ongoing conservation work at the Sanctuary.

Click here to find out more...
https://bit.ly/4xyBeKc

The Brook Waimārama Sanctuary

Experience the sanctuary after dark - 25% OFF - Uniquely Nelson Nelson Shopping Now Made Easier. Shop to you drop in Nelson City. Take time to enjoy boutique shopping, retail designer fashions, amazing arts & crafts, great cafés & restaurants & the world-famous markets. Nelson City's boutique shopping experience is like no other in New Zealand. Check out the ne...

54 people could keep our doors open

For 25 years, Magenta Creative Space has been Whakatū Nelson’s only free, walk-in, artist-led creative space. Supporting people navigating mental health, disabled artists, rangatahi, seniors experiencing social isolation and other underserved creatives to sustain a creative practice, exhibit their work publicly, and find belonging in a welcoming creative community.
Magenta is running a fundraising campaign on Boosted at the moment for $21,000, and it’s all or nothing. If we don’t reach the target by 6 October, we don’t get any of it. There are 20 days left to raise the remaining $2,705 we need to reach our target. 54 people giving $50 would do it!
Funds raised will go to tutor wages, art materials and studio consumables, the youth programme, exhibition and gallery costs, and core operating costs including rent, power and insurance.

Click here to read more...
https://bit.ly/4hyRoOQ

54 people could keep our doors open - Uniquely Nelson Nelson Shopping Now Made Easier. Shop to you drop in Nelson City. Take time to enjoy boutique shopping, retail designer fashions, amazing arts & crafts, great cafés & restaurants & the world-famous markets. Nelson City's boutique shopping experience is like no other in New Zealand. Check out the ne...

Come for the comedy. Stay because you’re laughing too hard to leave!

Yes, this year we have some of Aotearoa's most dynamic comedy voices coming to Nelson!

Want to catch two comedy shows at The Boathouse on the same night? You’ll get 10% off each ticket when you book tickets to two Comedy Double Bill performances. Two shows, one big night of laughs!

The Boathouse is also taking bookings for pre-show drinks and dinner, so you can grab a bite, settle in and enjoy a full night out.
https://nelsonartsfestival.nz/home/comedy-at-the-boathouse/

Want to know about each show?

DOING GREAT - BAILEY POCHING - https://nelsonartsfestival.nz/event/doing-great/ - Web Design

ONE NIGHT RANT - JAMES NOKISE - https://nelsonartsfestival.nz/event/one-night-rant/ - Sponsored by .nelson

CHOOKS - https://nelsonartsfestival.nz/event/chooks/ - Sponsored by

Te Tauihu Accessibility Expo – Sunday 13 September 2026 at Trafalgar Centre!

The Te Tauihu Accessibility Expo is back on Sunday 13 September — here’s what you can expect!
Following a fantastic inaugural year that welcomed more than 500 people, the Te Tauihu Accessibility Expo returns on Sunday 13 September, from 10am–3pm at the Trafalgar Centre, Nelson — and this year it’s set to be even bigger!
This free community event is dedicated to people of all abilities, their whānau, friends and supporters.

Click here to find out more...
https://bit.ly/4dyt25l

Trafalgar Venues

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Te Tauihu Accessibility Expo – Sunday 13 September 2026 at Trafalgar Centre! - Uniquely Nelson Nelson Shopping Now Made Easier. Shop to you drop in Nelson City. Take time to enjoy boutique shopping, retail designer fashions, amazing arts & crafts, great cafés & restaurants & the world-famous markets. Nelson City's boutique shopping experience is like no other in New Zealand. Check out the ne...

Politicians, policies, and everyone in between; he’s here to skewer them all.

ONE NIGHT RANT
The Boathouse, Nelson | Fri 30 Oct | 9pm

There’s three things you can count on this election year: Ministerial soundbites that age like milk, policy walk-backs hours after announcements, and James Nokise having hot comedic takes on the chaotic campaigns around the country.

One Night Rant returns in 2026 with a new hour of frenetic, furious, funny stand-up aimed at politicians across the spectrum — no party or policy is safe. Book early: this is the one show where the news cycle does half the research for a night of comedy, catharsis, and fist-shaking, boot-stomping fun.

Supported by: Uniquely Nelson

Book tickets now: https://nelsonartsfestival.nz/event/one-night-rant/