A Taylor Swift album release party in Te Puke? Why not!

That, in a nutshell, is the thought process that led to a listening party for Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl album that drops today.

The party will be in the Capitol Theatre in Jellicoe St, which is being transformed for its reinvention as the Kiwifruit Capital of the World Heritage Centre.

Sabrina Harms is organising the event on behalf of the society behind the centre and the transformation.

Hours of work have already gone into preparing the art deco building for its new use, mostly by people volunteering their time and expertise.

“Because we’ve had that infusion of support from the community, it means we are able to revitalise the upstairs theatre and start programming [events].”

Tentative planning for the listening party began in July, but it was only last week that the final i was dotted and the last t crossed.

When she heard about the album drop, Harms looked at a time zone map and realised the timing would be an event-friendly 5pm in New Zealand.

“I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this could be so cool’.”

She did, though, wonder if getting those behind the overall project on board was going to be a hard sell.

“Apart from some of the kids helping, I am definitely the youngest and I felt like it was going to be a bit of a left field pitch to our crew.

“But I’m fortunate because we’ve got some really open-minded people who want to push the envelope on what we can do and they said, ‘let’s go for it’.”

With the album title evoking the entertainment of an earlier era, and publicity shots including the backdrop of the art deco architecture of a Los Angeles hotel, the 1929-built theatre provides a fitting venue for the party.

“The Capitol Theatre has all these classic 20s lines and mouldings and is from the showgirl era,” said Harms.

In keeping with the theme, a “showgirl” has been hired to perform in the lead-up to the album launch.

Fifi Oh! from The Wild Untamed will be available for photos and there will be a question-and-answer session exploring the life of a performer.

Doors will open at 3.30pm, an hour and a half before the album drops.

“We are going to do some trivia, some guess-the-Taylor-Swift songs, swap friendship bracelets and we are hoping people will be in costume and dressed up.”

There will be a New Year’s Eve-style countdown before the album is played through the cinema’s surround sound system via Spotify.

“We’ve got back-up plans and contingencies because things can be a bit risky – the internet has crashed several times when Taylor has released something, but we’re really excited.”

Harms has heard a few people comment that they are surprised there is a listening party in Te Puke.

“My response is: ‘why not Te Puke?’ There’s no reason for us not to be an arts destination in the Bay of Plenty.

“We’ve got a building that is begging to host things like this, and we are excited to kick things off, excited to open our doors to share our inclusive and positive space with folks.”

Harms said while she liked some Taylor Swift songs when she was a teenager, and You Belong to Me and Tear Drops on My Guitar “could have been about a boy in my high school”, she drifted away from music.

However, one Swift album has a very special significance.

“Two years ago, I had my heart broken when an 11-year relationship ended. In April, The Tortured Poets Department was released, and I cried through the whole album on a log on a windy day at Pukehina Beach. It felt like she wrote every thought and feeling that had passed through me.”

Harms was disappointed that Swift’s international Eras tour didn’t make it to New Zealand but was lucky enough to see it in the US and it introduced her to more of Swift’s work.

“I come from a performance background and writing background and one of the things I enjoy the most is not just the music, but I adore the writing, there’s so much to be explored in that.”

Tickets for the listening party are $30 and are available through Eventbrite.

The event is restricted to those 13 and over.