With the Christmas and New Year holiday break just around the corner the team at Baycourt has advised the community and arts centre will be closed for a time.

The centre will closed from 1pm on Saturday December 22 and will then reopen in the New Year at 8:45am on Monday January 14, 2019.

Baycourt manager James Wilson says 2018 has proven to be an extremely busy and eventful year with just under 250 individual shows and events taking place at the centre from February to December.

These include annual and biennial events like the National Jazz Festival, Escape Readers and Writers Festival, Tauranga Festival of Performing Arts, and Friends of Baycourt's The Night is Young and the FOB Steinway Open Day events just to name a few.

In 2018, Baycourt also debuted its Arts on Tour NZ in Tauranga! show series which involved the delivery of seven Arts on Tour NZ Trust shows at three Tauranga venues – 16th Ave Theatre, The Historic Village Hall and the Baycourt X Space – from March to November.

Change was also a big feature of 2018 for Baycourt, none more so than welcoming Wilson to the Baycourt team in September.

Wilson joined Baycourt from Q Theatre in Auckland where he was Chief Executive from 2012-18 and took over as manager from Megan Peacock Coyle who now manages the Hawke's Bay Opera House and Arts Precinct.

'The Baycourt team hopes everyone in our community enjoys a fantastic and safe summer break, we look forward to welcoming you back to Baycourt in 2019 for a year filled with arts adventures, great storytelling and some fantastic nights out.

'Ngā mihi o te wā me te Tau Hou – Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.”

He says opening the 2019 season with a musical flourish will be the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra who are presenting Classical Journey in the Addison Theatre on Wednesday 20 February.

'Traditionally there are no shows at Baycourt during January and we will use the month to carry out any essential maintenance on the building, as well as prepare for the upcoming 2019 season of shows and events.

'Already 2019 is promising to be another fantastic year for Baycourt and our patrons, there are already a number of great shows currently on sale and there's still many more to come, so watch this space.”

During the closure members of public will still be able to book tickets for all the upcoming shows at Baycourt in 2019 through the Ticketek NZ website or call 0800 TICKETEK (842 538).