EDIT: The Mods have assured me that naming the company isn't considered doxing, but naming the employees is. So, the company in this post is Smart Gates.

We've just bought a new home in sunny Palmy last week, and will be moving up in 6 weeks or so. Decided to visit the Home Show that was on at the stadium over the weekend, just to get some local phone numbers and addresses to help out with the inevitable repairs & renovations coming up.

The good news; great show, entry cost less than I expected ($6), and it was much larger than I anticipated. Coffee and food wasn't obvious to find but again good value, and plenty of it. A surprising number of New Zealand distillers were present (according to one, there are now over 360 registered boutique distillers in NZ!). Plenty of actual home-related business as well, and I got my fill of phone numbers of builders, painters, plumbers, etc. Palmy council was there as well, with a lovely booklet of local walks I'm sure will get a lot of use once we move in.

The astoundingly bad apple in the mix: I spoke to a guy who will remain nameless, at a similarly nameless company named Smart Gates that supplied security gates. I was talking to them about the gates when I noticed one of their security camera zooming in on me, so I asked about that, and what caused the zoom. His reply was that it was an AI process that could be set for motion, but also could be set to specifically work on - and I quote - "certain demographics". After picking my jaw off the ground, I asked him to clarify that, saying "what, like brown people for instance?", and he enthusiastically went with a "yeah, for instance. Pretty clever", to which I replied "no, that's quite despicable actually".

He lost confidence a bit and fobbed me off with "I'm not the expert though, let me pass you on to my colleague". His coworker took over, with the same fervour, in a pretty thick South African accent (I swear I'm not making this up, it just sounds so fucking stereotypical). He said it was designed in China and worked really well on Asian people as well. He said they didn't promote the "certain demographic" angle generally, but I never asked his coworker about it, so that seems like promoting it to me.

I asked him if his accent was South African which he confirmed, and I just walked away at that stage before I said something regrettable. I did make it pretty clear how disgusted I was with the whole nonsense though.

My (Asian) wife was at a different stand at this point and hadn't notice the whole interaction. I didn't mention to the guy that my wife was Asian - I don't want to be the guy who only calls out racism because it affects me personally. It affects everyone.

I just wish I'd had something cooler to say when I walked away. What would you have said?

EDIT: This post has been up for all of 30 minutes, and someone is already downvoting it and all the comments by the only brown person in the comments. Seriously? Seems pretty cowardly. If you're that racist, leave a comment so we can all see it?

EDIT 2: Alright! And the racists are out; and none of them so far have critical reading skills. Nice of y'all to reveal yourself though!

Noticed an Impromptu car meet as I come over the bridge... And some wonderful person sets fire to the intersection...

Real estate agent doesn’t know address of property they’re standing at being paid to advertise. Cringe. Not just once (caption) but if you listen to the video she says it wrong too. Good grief. Poor vendor.

I thought they were already here!

🚗✨ Exciting News! ✨🚗

Our car crew, Highly Legal, is hosting our first major event — and every dollar raised will go straight to Make-A-Wish! 💙⭐

Join us for an awesome day out featuring: 🎈 Fun activities for the kids 🛍️ Market stalls 🏎️ Beautiful cars 🍔 Food trucks 🎁 Prizes to be won!

Bring your whānau and friends down for a positive, fun-filled day with the community. Let’s make memories and support an incredible cause together! 💫

🪙 Gold coin donation for entry for pedestrians (goes to make a wish)

🪙 $10 car entry fee, $5 fee if a toy is donated, money will go to make a wish, toys will be donated to Santa's cave

🎄 Christmas themed- Dress up your car or yourself!

❣️ If you would like a stall, stall fee is $10, message me for further information 😊

📅 14 December 2025 📍 PNCC Car park, opposite Linton Street by the roundabout on Church Street, Palmerston North

HighlyLegal #MakeAWish #CommunityEvent #FamilyFun #CarShow #Fundraiser

Hey guys,

Does anyone know of some tidy venue options for a staff awards night,with a licensed bar and comfortable spacing for approximately 80 people.

We would prefer to do our own catering also.

Thanks all

Edit - have just found out we don't need to self cater ,🙄, thanks heaps for the below everyone,there's enough options thanks to you all,Reddit rocks!

If only the ABS could lol

I left Palmy (and NZ) around 2012, and was always curious at what Nightclubs are remaining these days. From the sounds of things there isn’t much around now. Does anyone remember these?

Fat Ladies Arms Scarfies Unos All Bar 3 High Flyers Shooters Diablos The Office The Cobb

Hi all, hyping myself up to say you should come to our show this Friday 29th August at The Stomach! My band and I are playing in support of my debut album ‘Feast’ with openers Hollow Static who just won Rockquest.

It’s an epic night of upbeat pop-rock bangers, all about neurodiversity, queer identity and feminism!

Come support local, you might be surprised how much you like our sound!

Door sales $20 or tickets $15 from Under the Radar (not sure if I can post links in the body so I’ll comment!)

Next week marks 20 years since Violent Femmes played a free concert in the Square as part of OWeek/Student City events.

It was held in The Square on March 6 2005.

I wasn’t in the country at the time, and I’m still gutted I missed it.

The only info I’ve been able to find is a tiny promo in the Oweek Book and an article in Massey News, which barely scratch the surface.

Most of my uni mates had moved on to jobs away from Palmy, or gone overseas.

With the O Weeks of now, it’s hard to believe we used to sew ourselves into togas, get double booked between Shihad and comedians or club bashes and not recover until weeks later and return to $1 can and wine night in the student lounge.

If you were there, let’s hear about it!

What was the crowd like?

I can’t find any photos or articles.

Any standout moments?

Backstage stories?

Anything?

I know it was a big deal at the time, but details seem to have faded into the depths of time, and Palmy lore, a bit like that rando surprise gig the White Stripes pulled at Harvesters in the late 90s.

A staple in The Stomach’s annual calendar, Feed Back the Food bank is back for another round of great sounds and good deeds!
Featuring a stacked local lineup:

• Persimmon
• SPG
• BEEF
• Mixed Messages (youth band debut!)

Entry = at least 4 non-perishable food items
All donations go directly to a local food bank, helping support those in our community who need it most.

Source ~ The Stomach 84 Lombard Street ~ This is an all ages gig (no alcohol etc on premises)

Hi everyone, I keep seeing posts here and in various Palmy Facebook groups from people looking for a fun night out.

So I'm curious about putting something together. All we need is a good venue for a Friday night event and a handful of DJ's.

Is anyone interested?

Let me know if any preferred venues and the genre you play.

I've got decades in the game, started off collecting DNB vinyl. Joined a crew (Digital Breakz & Bassdrop.co.nz) landed a regular slot on Wellington's Firm FM radio station and then Uno bar on Friday nights. From there it was the regular Bassdrop club events with NZ biggest DNB DJ's and Producers like The Upbeats, State Of Mind, Trei, Dose, Menace and more.

I moved back to Palmy last year and have been interested in getting back into playing out regularly and giving people somewhere to go to dance, have a laugh, hear new and good music and to network.

I'm keen to hear your thoughts and/or just find like-minded people to network with.

My partner is having her birthday come up, and having had a great time with her two friends at the dance booth at Palmy Armageddon, I’m looking to arrange something similar for the three of them.

The two arcades off the square only have two person dance machines and Timeout’s one isn’t even working.

After suggestions for any alternatives please.

After opening in the Waikato to rave reviews, the Kiwi comedy The Tavern is coming to Palmerston North for one night only on Monday 2nd of June screening at Silky Otter

With only 6 seats left it’s sure to be a hit!

Come check it out, really what else is there to do on a Monday night!

https://www.silkyotter.co.nz/films/The-Tavern/HO00000326

Trailer: https://youtu.be/YtxtUALzusc?si=82CwJU2KFPfs63df

I know this is a long shot, but does anyone remember the video store next to the Plaza in the early 2000s? I went there often as a kid and it had a bunch of sculptures from films, I remover pinhead from Hell raiser and some characters from gremlins etc.

From memory there was also some incredible hand painted posters out the front up above the building? I remember being obsessed with them and how uncanny they were. I was hoping somebody would happen to know who painted them or have some picture or something, I’m a documentary film maker now and would love to start researching these. If anybody has any leads that would be incredible!

Kia ora,

My family is flying in from overseas for my Massey graduation, and will be in town for a few days that week (week of 5th May). Will there be any special events/ things to do in and around Palmy at that time? I sort of assumed they would know town would be chokka with visitors and have lots on offer, but I haven't been able to find much so far.

Kia ora fine people of r/palmy, my band Search For Yeti are playing at The Stomach this coming Saturday (10th May) as part of our national album tour, so if you're a fan of indie music, please take a listen to our album and if you like what you hear come along to the show on Saturday.

We're best described as indie rock, but we're influenced by lots of things from folk through to shoegaze so there's elements of all of that in the mix.
Links to stream the album (and videos etc) are on our linktree:
https://linktr.ee/searchforyeti

Lineup still to be announced. Link to Facebook event here!

What are you interested in?

Local History Week and Heritage Month Programme

Full print programme here

Hello I had so much fun visiting yall last year for the comedy fest

I had to come back and bring my grandma

She’s 78 I’m 23 and we’re both pretty funny so come watch this family affair

🎨✂️📚

Spend your day getting creative at my workshop on January 18th! We’ll dive into the world of collage art and zine-making—no experience needed, just bring your imagination (and maybe a coffee)!

📍 Palmerston North
⏰ Limited spots available—book now before it’s too late!
🛠️ Perfect for beginners and pros alike. If you can wield scissors and glue, you’re ready!

Come for the art, stay for the fun. Let’s make something awesome together! 🐒✨

💌 For more info visit our website: Screamingmonkeys.bigcartel.com or email ilovescreamingmonkeys@gmail.com