Welcome to this week's edition of The Newy List!

Newcastle’s stages are doing the heavy lifting this week, with Opera Australia, Hunter Drama and a homegrown ukulele festival all in town. Beyond the theatre doors, there is comedy at Warners Bay, ceramics in Cessnock, a Scottish-flavoured day out in Lovedale, and a very civilised run through the Hunter Valley’s food, wine and makers.

BIG Live brings a dance-led take on Fitzgerald’s story to the Civic, combining ballet, tap and jazz with a score that includes Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Choose an afternoon or evening performance across the weekend.

•When: Saturday 22 August, 2:30pm or 7:30pm; Sunday 23 August, 1:30pm or 6:30pm

•Where: Civic Theatre, 375 Hunter Street, Newcastle

•Price: From $64

•More info: View show and book

A full day of pipe bands, Highland dancing, strongman events, Scottish culture, food and drink among the vines at Saltire Estate. It is a broad, family-friendly day out rather than just an occasion for enthusiastic tartan.

•When: Saturday 22 August, all day

•Where: Saltire Estate, 113 Wilderness Road, Lovedale

•Price: Paid entry; see booking page for current ticket options

•More info: Explore the games and tickets

Marty Sheargold brings his stand-up show to Warners Bay Theatre for one night. This is an MA15+ performance, with adult themes and coarse language.

•When: Saturday 22 August, 8pm–9:20pm

•Where: Warners Bay Theatre, Warners Bay

•Price: $69.90; concession and groups from $64.90

•More info: View details and book

Opera Australia’s touring production lands at the Civic for one evening, with Mozart’s Italian-language opera performed with English surtitles. The Hunter Trebles join the production as the regional children’s chorus.

•When: Thursday 20 August, 7:30pm

•Where: Civic Theatre, 375 Hunter Street, Newcastle

•Price: From $64

•More info: View show and book

The major evening concert of the Newkulele Festival brings The Tuckshop Ladies, Aj Leonard and Jenny Rawlings, Bob Corbett and the Roo Grass Band, and the Ukastle Ukestra to the Conservatorium.

•When: Friday 21 August, 6pm–9:30pm

•Where: Harold Lobb Concert Hall, Newcastle Conservatorium of Music, corner Laman and Auckland streets, Newcastle

•Price: See organiser for current ticket details

•More info: Learn more

Students from St Mary’s Primary School, Warners Bay present an original production built around instruments, stories and the collective task of forming a band. There is a matinee and an evening performance.

•When: Wednesday 19 August, 11am or 6pm

•Where: Civic Theatre, 375 Hunter Street, Newcastle

•Price: $35

•More info: View show and book

Hunter Drama stages the comedy whodunit adapted from the board game and cult film. Six guests, a butler, a maid and a murder mystery give the Playhouse a lively four-day run.

•When: Thursday 20 August, 7pm; Friday 21 August, 7pm; Saturday 22 August, 2pm or 7pm; Sunday 23 August, 2pm or 7pm

•Where: Playhouse, Civic Theatre, 375 Hunter Street, Newcastle

•Price: $59; concession $49; opening night $55

•More info: View show and book

Step into a 360-degree projection work that blends celestial imagery, sound design and narration into a journey through the solar system. It is a free, easy add-on to a Speers Point weekend.

•When: Friday 21 August to Sunday 23 August, 9am–2pm

•Where: Multi-Arts Pavilion, MAP mima, Speers Point

•Price: Free

•More info: View exhibition details

A 90-minute guided walking tour through Maitland’s criminal past, beginning outside the train station and led by Dark Stories. Dress for the evening rather than the witness stand.

•When: Saturday 22 August, 5pm–6:30pm

•Where: Meet at the seated area outside Maitland Train Station, Station Street side, Maitland

•Price: Adults $34 plus booking fee; children $25 plus booking fee

•More info: View details and book

Astrophysicist Dr Karelle Siellez combines sound, art and astrophysics in a National Science Week talk about gravitational waves, gamma-ray bursts and how the cosmos tells its stories. A thoughtful Friday night alternative to the usual dinner-and-a-show routine.

•When: Friday 21 August, doors from 6pm; talk 6:30pm–7:30pm

•Where: Newcastle Museum, 6 Workshop Way, Newcastle

•Price: Adults $10; under 18s free

•More info: View details and book

National Science Week opens with an accessible, big-picture conversation about astronomy, space discoveries and the questions still hanging above us. It is a thoughtful early-week outing for anyone who likes their local culture with a little perspective.

📅 Monday, 17 August, 5:30–7:30pm · Newcastle Conservatorium of Music, Auckland Street, Newcastle · FREE

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A guided walk through the vineyard followed by four wine-and-food pairings and an Italian-inspired lunch from Mangia. Numbers are limited to 20, so this is one to book rather than leave to a Sunday-morning whim.

•When: Sunday 23 August, from 10:30am to approximately 3:30pm

•Where: Saddler’s Creek Wines, 15 Marrowbone Road, Pokolbin

•Price: $115; $99 for Club Equus members

•More info: View the Wine Walk and book

A Saturday country market focused on locally made goods and regional makers, held at Sobels Wines. A straightforward option for gifts, pantry extras and a slow start to the weekend.

•When: Saturday 22 August, 9am–2pm

•Where: Sobels Wines, 5 Halls Road, Pokolbin

•Price: Free entry

•More info: View market details

This weekly vineyard-country market brings together local food, produce, craft, coffee and street food, with live acoustic music and children’s activities also part of the mix.

•When: Sunday 23 August, 8am–2pm

•Where: 691 Hermitage Road, Pokolbin

•Price: Free entry

•More info: View market details

A low-key monthly gathering for classic, vintage, muscle and sports-car owners, with coffee and an unhurried chat by the bay. All marques are welcome.

•When: Monday 17 August, from 9am

•Where: Long Boat Cafe, Nelson Bay

•Price: Free; buy your own coffee

•More info: View event details

MAC yapang’s gentle creative wellbeing session is designed for people living with dementia and their carers. It includes a guided exhibition visit, discussion, slow looking and a hands-on art activity; bookings are essential.

•When: Wednesday 19 August, 10:30am–12pm

•Where: MAC yapang, 2A First Street, Booragul

•Price: Free

•More info: View details and book

Young builders can make, play and code with LEGO Spike in a free Science Week session. Choose either Raymond Terrace Library or Tomaree Library and Community Centre; booking is essential.

•When: Thursday 20 August, 4pm

•Where: Raymond Terrace Library, Raymond Terrace, or Tomaree Library and Community Centre, Salamander Bay

•Price: Free; ages 7–12

•More info: Choose a library and book

A curator from Museums of History NSW takes the annual Grossmann Lecture at Brough House through the colour, pattern and domestic stories of Australian wallpaper. Homemade canapés and a glass of sparkling wine in the garden make the history feel especially well mannered.

📅 Saturday, 22 August, 2:00–4:00pm · Brough House, 73 Church Street, Maitland · From $25

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If a Sunday afternoon needs rescuing from errands, slip into Newcastle Art Gallery for Michelle Gearin’s evolving open-studio installation. Watercolour, animation and an imagined inner palace make this a quietly absorbing stop, and it will not ask anything of you except that you leave the shopping bags outside.

•When: Tuesday 18 August to Sunday 23 August, 10am–4pm

•Where: Newcastle Art Gallery, 1 Laman Street, Newcastle

•Price: Free

•More info: View exhibition details

Tucked away on Mount Dee Road, this modest museum tells the industrial story of the South Maitland Railways through preserved steam-era equipment, tools, artefacts and records. It is not polished into oblivion, which is part of the charm: you can still feel that rail history happened here rather than being arranged for a brochure. The museum is open on the first Sunday of each month, with visits at other times by arrangement, so it rewards a little advance planning. It is especially good for a slow heritage detour after a Maitland lunch.

Mount Dee Road, Maitland · Open first Sunday of each month, 10:00am–3:00pm; other times by arrangement

Know a quiet local treasure that deserves a mention? Reply to this email with your own hidden gem tip.

A small heads-up for September: D’Vine returns across Pokolbin’s Around Hermitage Wine and Food Trail for a three-day program of cellar doors, food and wine experiences, live music and makers. The detailed program is still taking shape, but weekend passes and accommodation are worth sorting early if you want the good kind of logistical problem.

•When: Friday 11 September to Sunday 13 September 2026

•Where: Around Hermitage Wine and Food Trail, Pokolbin, Hunter Valley

•Price: Paid; see festival for current passes and inclusions

•More info: View festival details and tickets

Joe Avati returns with a new comedy show built around the pleasures and peculiarities of the so-called good old days. A single Newcastle date in a sizeable room still has a habit of filling once the group chat gets involved, so this is a useful early nudge.

Saturday, 19 September, 8:30pm

NEX Wests City, Newcastle West

🔗 Book tickets

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That's your week, Onward for next week Knights 11-6. See you out there. 🙌

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