Neon Party – 1st Anniversary Celebration!
One year ago we took over Menfriends and began reshaping the space into the venue you know today — a place built for men (mostly), with community, heat, and good energy at its core.
Now it’s time to celebrate everything we’ve created together.
$20 entry all day, with DJ’s bringing the vibe from 5pm until late.
Cake to share — because every birthday needs sweetness
Come enjoy the steam, the music, the company, and the atmosphere that’s grown stronger with every month.
Whether you’re here to relax, explore, flirt, or just soak up the energy, this day is for you.
Men‑only / masc‑presenting.
Celebrate the men who made this year unforgettable.
Join us for a flash fiction workshop 
Flash fiction is a short piece of fiction (usually under 1000 words). It is a very exciting way of writing and we’re bringing you a workshop with Rachel Smith (Flash Frontier, National Flash Fiction Day Ōtautahi) to explain how to write a great piece!
We will spend one hour writing. The second hour of this workshop is an open mic session for anyone who wants to read what they wrote either in the workshop or in their own time. This will be open to shorter pieces and poetry.
This event is for folks 16+ and tickets are free of charge. We have limited capacity for this event. 
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/flashfiction
Après Smash returns to Smash Palace for an afternoon and evening of retro ski vibes, great music, and an unforgettable atmosphere.
No lift pass required—just your favourite people, a love of good music, and a willingness to hit the dance floor.
🎧 Skew-Whiff – Vinyl master and Smash Palace all-star, bringing a mix of disco, funky grooves, house, dance classics and crowd favourites.
🎧 SpeedieLokzz – Bringing fresh energy with an infectious blend of house, funk and club dance to keep the party going from afternoon through to late.
🎿 Dress Code: Retro ski gear is encouraged, but not essential. Throw on a puffer jacket, add a beanie, and you’re already fitting the Après Smash vibe.
🍻 Happy Hour | 4:00pm – 6:00pm
🌈 A welcoming space for the LGBTQIA+ community and allies
📍 Smash Palace – 172 High Street, Christchurch
📅 Saturday 22 August 2026
🕓 4:00pm – Late
🎟️ Free Entry | R18
Round up your crew, embrace the winter vibes, and join us for another unforgettable Après Smash! ❄️💙🏳️🌈
Freedom ’86: Celebrating 40 Years of Pride, Progress & Protest
Join us on Friday 7th August as we celebrate 40 years since the Homosexual Law Reform Act changed Aotearoa New Zealand forever.
Step back into the spirit of 1986 for a night of iconic 80s vibes, incredible music, and unapologetic self-expression. Whether you’re rocking neon, sequins, leather, denim, or simply dressing as your most authentic self, this is your night to celebrate how far we’ve come and honour those who fought to get us here.
Dance the night away at the Sydenham Underpass, surrounded by community, pride, and great beats. We’ll also hear from a special guest speaker as we reflect on this historic milestone before the party continues into the night.
Doors open: 9:00pm
First DJ: 10:00pm
Doors close at midnight!
🎟 Tickets:
$25 pre-sale
$30 on the door
Come celebrate four decades of progress, remember our history, and rave for the future. 🌈✨
A Classic Gay Friday Night Out.
OUT is a new Friday night event by Q Events, inspired by the classic Friday and Saturday nights that have brought our rainbow community together over the years.
Created for our rainbow community and allies, OUT is a welcoming space to connect, celebrate and dance. Whether you’re catching up with old friends, meeting new people or simply looking for a great night out, everyone is welcome.
Join us for good people, great music, good drinks and dancefloor vibes with DJ Zac.
Event Details
📅 Friday 17 July
🕘 From 9:00 pm
📍 Morrell & Co, Christchurch
🎧 DJ Zac
🎟️ Free entry – Reserve your free ticket via Humanitix.
🔞 R18
Grab your free ticket:
https://events.humanitix.com/outatmorrell-and-co
Come and have a nice time with a chill group of (usually around 8 or 9) queer people! 
We have crafters always happy to help and teach, chatty people, quiet people, energetic people, tired people, younger people, older people, regulars, people dropping by once in a while, people who come to work on their WIP, people coming to chat, people coming to play board games, people coming just to hang out!
We also have yarn craft supplies and seasoned crafters to help you get going if you want to learn knitting, crochet or nalbinding 
Come by every other Thursday at 6pm at Fendalton library!
Join Misty Elixir & Whoopsie Lady from Nothing Linear as they get ready to warm up winter with some of their very talented friends!
The Gigglemug Show is a variety show celebrating all things joyful and cheery: rally your friends, slip into your snazziest outfit, and join us for an evening overflowing with joy, amazement, and the magic of live theatre!
Venue: Good Times Comedy Club, 224 St Asaph St
Date: Friday 24th July 2026, 7.30PM
What can I expect at The Gigglemug Show?
- Festive drink specials
- Fancy outfits
- Music
- Drag
- Laughter
Is this show for me?
If you’ve always dreamed of being in the live audience of your favourite 1970’s variety hour, we think this experience will come pretty close. If you like music, comedy, drag and cabaret, and especially if you love a celebration, you will want to book your tickets early!
Content Warnings
Coarse Language & Adult Humour (Likely)
Sudden loud noises (Possible)
Loud ambient/crowd noise (Likely)
Bright lights (Certain)
Audience and Accessibility
This is a variety/cabaret event aimed towards adults and is recommended for audiences aged 16 and over.
The venue is wheelchair accessible with a wheelchair accessible entryway and accessible toilet, although the bar height is quite tall. If you have any accessibility queries, please feel free to contact us or the venue
A place for LGBTQIA+folks and allies to connect with each other and nature.
We will be putting in the mahi to look after the environment alongside the Richmond Community Gardens in Ōtautahi.
We will finish up early for a cuppa.
Join us for Queer Cinema for Palestine (QCP) – No Pride in Genocide, a groundbreaking global film event co-organized by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) together with hundreds of partner groups worldwide.
QCP 2026 features 300 screenings in nearly 60 countries all over the world of a collectively-curated stellar short film program throughout the month of June 2026.
Join us as we continue to shout No Pride in Genocide and build queer solidarity with Palestinians!
The QCP 2026 program focuses on the work of queer, Palestinian, and allied artists, across locales, in historic Palestine and the diaspora, identities, lengths, styles and genres (doc-hybrid, experimental, fiction, and animation) to highlight art’s position in resistance and the struggle for liberation.
Falasteen Film Society Ōtautahi returns in June with a very special event: Queer Cinema for Palestine 2026. We warmly invite you to join us for a screening of 6 powerful queer short films from around the world, in solidarity with Palestine. Admission is $30pp, 2/3 of which will be sent to Gaza to the 10+ families that FFSŌ supports there. 1/3 of the proceeds will be donated to the film-makers. As with all of our monthly film screenings, snacks and refreshments are provided at no extra cost.
Trade boredom for board games!
Come hang out with the Qtopia team and other lovely humans who just want to roll the dice, pull a card and have a good time. You’ll find us at Meepleopolis at the Climate Action Campus (plenty of parking available and the closest bus stops are Woodham Rd and Stanmore Rd) on Saturday 30 May. Come alone or bring a mate, there will be room and games for everyone! 
We will start at 2PM and have three hours of fun!
One final Sunday Session before winter. 🌇
Join us for The Sunset at Smash Palace on Sunday, 17 May. We’ll kick things off from 2PM and roll through golden hour, with sunset over Ōtautahi at 5:13PM.
All the usual Sunday Sessions seasonings—great music, great people, and a welcoming space for our LGBTQIA+ whānau and allies—the perfect way to farewell the warmer months.
📍 Smash Palace
🕒 From 2PM
🍹 Happy Hour 4–6PM
🎟 Free Entry
🐶 Dog-Friendly Courtyard
🎧 DJ: Skew-Whiff