Hastings’ cultural heart reopens as Toitoi this weekend
After five years of closure for earthquake strengthening, Hastings’ beloved cultural precinct, Toitoi – Hawke’s Bay Arts & Events Centre, will reopen this Saturday.
The iconic 105-year-old category one historic Opera House building, along with its neighbouring category one Municipal Building, was closed in 2014 after it was deemed earthquake-prone.
Hastings District Council Group Manager: Community Facilities and Programmes, Alison Banks, says extensive consultation followed with 3000 submissions received.
“More than 80 per cent of respondents were in favour of bringing the buildings up to 70 to 75 per cent of the current New Building Standard, so work on the multi-million dollar project began in August 2017.”
The Spanish Mission-style Opera House is one of the best lyric theatres in Australasia, but all of its 12m original load-bearing brick masonry walls needed to be encased by steel and concrete shear walls. The original foundations were also extended.
“The theatre interior is Art Nouveau style, so all the decorative elements within the foyer spaces had to be re-created once the shear walls had been installed. The interior wall and feature colours also now more closely resemble the original 1915 colour scheme,” Ms Banks says.
The former plaza, now known as Functions on Hastings, has also had a new roof installed above its 660m2 floor space, so it is now one of the largest single level, all-weather venues in Hawke’s Bay.
Toitoi manager Megan Peacock-Coyle says they wanted Functions on Hastings to be a genuine multi-use facility.
“It has new acoustic treatments and the decorative ceiling, which symbolises the Mākirikiri Stream running beneath Toitoi, conceals rigging systems and utilities.”
Work on the Opera House, Eastbourne, Cushing Foyer and Functions on Hastings is now complete, at a total cost of $17.8m ($13.1m Hastings District Council funding).
Toitoi will officially open to the public this Saturday, February 29, starting with a dawn blessing followed by a community festival on Sunday, March 1.
Ultimately, Ms Peacock-Coyle says Toitoi is focused on creating a space for all locals.
“We strongly believe the arts should be accessible to everybody, so we’re creating an inclusive space and programme. When the people of Heretaunga come to Toitoi we want them to see their faces in this place – to see that everyone in Hastings belongs at Toitoi. And Toitoi belongs to them all.”
Toitoi’s curated entertainment programme kicks off straight after Homecoming Weekend, with the first performances the following weekend.
KEY OPENING WEEKEND DETAILS:
Dawn Blessing: Saturday, February 29. Please gather on Hastings St (which will be closed for the weekend) at 5.30am for a 6am start. All welcome, free entry.
Community Festival: Sunday, March 1, 10am-2pm. Come and explore Toitoi at your own pace, there’ll be entertainment and fun for the whole whānau. All welcome, free entry.
KEY STATISTICS:
- More than 500,000 hours spent, including engineering and architectural design, project management and construction
- More than 100 tradies
- 620m2 carpet laid in the Opera House
- 5,900 litres of paint used in the Opera House and Functions on Hastings
- 163 tonnes of structural steel
- 37 tonnes of reinforcing steel
- 85 trucks of concrete
- Toitoi has hired nine permanent staff and 32 casual event crew
- 660m2 new floor size in Functions on Hastings
- Functions on Hastings has capacity for 500 guests theatre-style, 450 for dinner and 800 for cocktails.
- Opera House capacity of 979 people, with a 240m2 stage
- Cushing Foyer, 219m2, fits 80 people for theatre, 48 for banquet and 100 for cocktails.
