- ASTRONOMY: The night sky opens up to show things we may have only dreamed of! The group meets at the Planetarium from 1.30pm to 3.30pm on the second Thursday following the second Wednesday of each month.
- BOOK DISCUSSION: Meeting on the afternoon of the fourth Wednesday of every month, in the Hastings Library, the group discusses a wide range of books of interest.
- BUSH WALKING: The aim of this group is to encourage those who have never done much bush walking to try it. Also it is to encourage people to enjoy places in HB that they may have never visited before or wouldn’t necessarily go to on their own. We will share cars for transport and take our lunch with us. This group activity will be on the second Wednesday of the month
- CLASSICAL MUSIC: The group listens to the music of a variety of composers, based on video recordings and learning about different styles and how music progressed. Meets monthly, on the second Tuesday afternoon.
- COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD: Countries of the World – looking at countries in depth, aspects of their people, history, culture, language, religions, food, geographical features and their place in the world. Second Thursday afternoon 2 – 4pm each month.
- CYCLE FUN: This group will hit the cycle-ways around Hawke’s Bay in the mornings of the first and third Wednesday each month, weather permitting! This is an opportunity for people who want to cycle for fun and will not suit serious cyclists or keep-fit fanatics!
- DANCE AND BALLET: A group that will appeal to lovers of ballet and other performed dance, meeting in the afternoons of the third Wednesday each month to watch DVDs of ballet and other dance.
- EXPLORING POETRY: On the third Friday, 10-12 pm, at Diana and Richard Jennings’ home. The group writes, reads, and enjoys poetry of all sorts, from the near ridiculous to touching the divine. Don’t let the thought of writing poetry put you off. We have our moments, we have our times when we can’t think of a thing to write; but we also have times of revelation as we amaze ourselves at what we’ve created – and we have plenty of laughs! Come and try us out!
- GREENFINGERS: Meeting on the first Tuesday morning each month, the group shares gardening tips, exchanges ideas (and plants), visits gardens, and listens to talks on how the experts do things.
- HEADS OF STATE: On the second Friday, 2-4 pm pm, at Diana and Richard Jennings’ home. Group members take turns in researching and presenting facts about Heads of State. To date we have covered American Presidents, Russian Presidents, New Zealand Prime Ministers and United Nations Secretaries General. During 2022 we intend to cover British Prime Ministers, French Presidents, Australian Prime Ministers and, possibly, British Monarchs – we’ll see how we go!
- HISTORICAL AMBLERS: This friendly group meets on the fourth Thursday afternoon of each month (weather permitting), to walk to places of historical interest in Hastings, Napier and Central Hawke’s Bay.
- ITALIAN: Members learn Italian language (mainly written) and culture. Group meets first and third Friday mornings of the month.
- LIVING LANGUAGE – NEW WORDS: A group which will activate your reading knowledge and increase your word power. The group meets on the second Monday morning of the month at 9.45 (for morning tea – gold coin donation) till 12 noon. As a member of the group, if you see a word and do not know its meaning, you write it down in your notebook, look up its meaning in a good dictionary (NOT Wikipedia) and add the meaning into your notebook. Try to have 2-3 words each month. When the group meets: a) each member reads out their new words to see if others know the meanings, thus expanding everyone’s vocabulary (for example, what is a Quahog?). Then b) members share their interpretive reactions to a single word or phrase which has been given at the end of the previous meeting (examples: ‘FIRST’ and ‘TELEGRAPH POLES’).
- LUNCH GROUP TUESDAY: The group meets on fourth Tuesday each month, to have lunch at a different restaurant each time.
- MAHJONG: This group meets every Wednesday morning in the Hastings Library.
- METEOROLOGY: This group meets from 2pm to 3.30pm on the fourth Thursday of each month in the former Art Gallery at the Hastings Library. New members are welcome, with basics being covered.
- OLD MOVIES: Only during the winter months. Starts at the end of May and runs through to September/October.
- OPERA ON VIDEO: On the second Thursday afternoon each month this group meets to watch DVDs of operas.
- PETANQUE: The group will meet every Thursday morning at Summerset in the Orchard to play petanque; tuition will be given. New members welcome.
- PIONEER WOMEN NEW ZEALAND AND AROUND THE WORLD: THEIR STORIES: Members of the group will be required to research and contribute. The group meets on the first Monday afternoon of each month. This group is not taking new members in 2022.
- QUIZ TIME: Meets 2-4pm on the third Monday of the month at Summerset in the Orchard in Ada Street, each member comes prepared with 10-12 general knowledge questions which they will put to the other members of the group. The questions can be based on a theme, or completely random. We have a break for afternoon tea.
- SCIENCE: TOPICS OF INTEREST: Participants can take turns at presenting topics of interest from science to be discussed by the group which will meet on the mornings of the second and fourth Wednesdays each month.
- SLOW STITCH: Join a small group of us who are interested in exploring the benefits and beauty of slow stitch. It allows you to play with textiles and thread to simply enjoy the process of slowly taking a needle for a walk without thinking about the outcome … just letting it happen, It’s about quality over quantity and fun as well. It’s about doing everything as well as possible rather than as fast as possible. In the craft terms the slow approach is a celebration of a process, work that has reflection at its heart and skill that takes time to learn. The simplicity of this process means that anyone can easily be part of it. All materials will be supplied with plenty of samples to help you on the way. First and third Monday mornings 9.30 am to noon (morning tea included).
- SOCIAL HISTORY: In this course, members research and discuss how people lived at a particular time. Meetings are in the mornings of the first and third Wednesdays each month.
- TE REO: Details to be advised.
- TRAVEL: This very sociable group meets on the second Thursday morning of each month to hear accounts of travel to various countries and to get travel advice.
- WORD GAMES AND BRAIN GAMES: Meeting at 1.30pm on the first Tuesday each month at Summerset in the Orchard. Brains are stimulated by the puzzles and games, while word power is increased.
Daily Group Schedule 2022
| Week One | Morning | Afternoon |
| Monday | Slow stitch | Pioneer Women New Zealand and Around the World |
| Tuesday | Greenfingers | Word Games and Brain Games |
| Wednesday | Mahjong Social History Cycle Fun | |
| Thursday | Petanque | |
| Friday | Italian |
| Week Two | Morning | Afternoon |
| Monday | Living Language | |
| Tuesday | Classical Music on Video | |
| Wednesday | Mahjong Science: Topics of Interest Bush Walking | |
| Thursday | Travel Petanque | Countries of the World Opera on Video Astronomy (if following 2nd Wednesday) |
| Friday | Heads of State |
| Week Three | Morning | Afternoon |
| Monday | Slow Stitch | Quiz time |
| Tuesday | ||
| Wednesday | Social History Mahjong Cycle Fun | Dance and Ballet |
| Thursday | Petanque | Astronomy (if following 2nd Wednesday) |
| Friday | Exploring Poetry Italian |
| Week Four | Morning | Afternoon |
| Monday | Old Movies on DVD (last Monday of the month, from May to October) | |
| Tuesday | Tuesday Lunch Group | |
| Wednesday | Mahjong Science: Topics of Interest | Book Discussion |
| Thursday | Petanque | Historical Amblers Meteorology (if last Thursday of the month) |
| Friday |
| Week Five | Morning | Afternoon |
| Wednesday | Mahjong | |
| Thursday | Petanque | Meteorology (if last Thursday of the month) |