I was lucky to attend the 2023 EVANZ (Entertainment Venues Association Of New Zealand) conference in Ōtepoti last week – and wow! What an experience it was – an absolute highlight of my time with The PumpHouse Theatre.

My presentation at the EVANZ conference

I was the recipient of the Hamilton the Musical Internship Scholarship through EVANZ and Spark Arena, so I attended the conference to do a presentation about my internship. What I didn’t realise is that I would come away with an absolute wealth of valuable knowledge about the Entertainment Venues community. There were all sorts of incredible seminars, presentations, and panels on various topics. A highlight was the Knowledge Café, a bit like speed dating, we hopped from table to table digesting wisdom from experts on many topics such as:

• Manaakitanga – how to enhance the mana of the people who use and interact with our venue
• Accessibility & Inclusivity – ensuring everyone who comes to our venue has an equal experience
• Embracing the inevitable robot uprising (kidding) – how to use AI for marketing wizardry and more.

I do feel I am now equipped with the expertise on how to continue to make sure our venue is a welcoming wonderland for everyone.

The Regent Theatre, Dunedin

I had the exciting privilege of touring The Regent Theatre (so beautiful!) and the Forsyth Barr Stadium. We had a brilliant talk from keynote speaker Sir Ian Taylor who is a real inspiration. Oh, and I got to attend the prestigious EVANZ awards night!

Meg at the EVANZ Awards Night, Dunedin Town Hall

Three days of pure inspiration that was like a festival of knowledge and networking. Until next time, EVANZ!

EVANZ Awards 2023, Dunedin Town Hall