Here are a few of our workshop hosts for The Muster – with more sessions and details coming soon.

Morina and Saniya are the powerhouse duo behind South Pole Dance – an inclusive Waihōpai Invercargill studio offering pole, chair, aerial silks, hoop and more. With a body-positive, empowering approach, they help students of all shapes, ages and abilities build strength, confidence and creativity through dance. You might’ve seen them performing at events like the Invercargill Cabaret Festival or competing as award-winning aerialists. At the heart of their mahi is community, self-expression and joy. Through teaching, performing and creating safe, vibrant spaces, Morina and Saniya are transforming the perception of pole and aerial dance in Murihiku Southland and beyond.
At The Muster, they’ll dazzle with a sassy evening performance. They’ll also be running two workshops over the weekend – no dance background needed, just bring yourself and be ready to leave the session feeling fierce and fabulous.

Katherine Mitchell is a fisher, hunter, grower, and citizen scientist with a passion for promoting food resilience. As manager of Fiordland Charters, she uses her time on the water to teach clients about sustainable fishing practices and to foster respect for Fiordland’s fragile marine environment. On land, Katherine supports her local community garden and runs community cooking classes, showing how to make the most of local, seasonal produce. Her work — both on the water and in the kitchen — is driven by a vision of a future where New Zealanders can confidently grow, harvest, and catch their own food, working in balance with nature.
At The Muster Katherine will be running a workshop to help get you started on your sourdough journey.

Kristina Placko is the founder of Stray South Fishing Outfitters NZ, a Southland-based guiding and fly fishing education business created to share the joy, challenge, and reward of fly fishing with others – especially women. Kristina's background in construction, and her journey into the world of guiding, has been one of growth, grit, and self-discovery, and it’s that same journey she now invites others to experience through her workshops.
Her focus is on creating welcoming, empowering spaces where women can build skills, confidence, and connection in the outdoors – whether they’re picking up a rod for the first time or looking to expand their knowledge. Sharing her experience isn’t just a job – it’s a vocation and her legacy. Through Stray South NZ Kristina is passing on the lessons she’s learned, helping to shape the next generation of anglers as river stewards, leaders, and adventurers.
At The Muster Kristina will be running a workshop on an introduction to fly fishing, and you'll also find her in the Artsbreak Area where she'll help you transform a fishing fly into a key ring.

Janelle (Tainui Āwhiro, Ngāti Hauiti) is a wāhine Māori who brings big heart, deep whakaaro and real talk to every space she enters. Raised with strong connections to kaupapa Māori, te taiao, and her tūpuna, she carries mana and humility into her work in leadership, education and strategy. As Kaihautū of Riki Consultancy she leads courageous change across Aotearoa – from boardrooms to marae. Whether supporting tangata Tiriti or holding space for wāhine, Janelle’s style is always the same – straight up, full of aroha, and founded in tikanga. Off the clock, she’s a league mum, reformer pilates battler, and proud Māmā, doing her best to honour the wāhine toa who paved the way.

Raised on a sheep and beef farm in Clinton’s Slopedown Valley, Dr Rachel Copland (FRNZCGP FASLM MBChB BHB focused PGCertWH) holds Tokanui as a place of adventure, learning and beauty. Swapping gumboots for textbooks, she headed to Auckland for medical school and postgraduate hospital work before a decade of moving between the North and South Islands – and a stint in Australia where her two children were born.
Now settled in Queenstown with her family, Rachel works as both a GP and Lifestyle Medicine Physician, and also runs a hormonal health clinic with Oxford Women’s Health. A lifelong learner, she brings a holistic, evidence-based approach to medicine, empowering her patients and community to thrive.
Rachel will be running two workshops during The Muster focused on women's health and wellbeing.

Anna Guenther is the co-founder and Chief Bubble Blower of PledgeMe, Aotearoa’s first licensed equity crowdfunding platform and one of the first in Australia. She has helped hundreds of founders and doers raise the funds they need to grow their ideas — and has crowdfunded her own ventures many times too. Since launching, more than 1,700 creative, community and entrepreneurial campaigns have raised over $75 million through @pledgeme
Anna has also worked for MIT and Harvard, and holds a Masters in Entrepreneurship from the University of Otago Business School, focused on crowdfunding. She’s also held several roles at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, supporting companies to grow for the good of Aotearoa and the world.
At her Muster workshop, Anna will share her personal experiences raising funds — along with the stories of others who’ve been there and done that — offering clear, practical tips, feedback and expertise. Anna will also be taking part on our business panel.

Sharne Parkinson has long been immersed in Māori arts, kaupapa Māori events, and teaching. Through her business Harakeke Down South, she has created projects and programmes ranging from small, intimate gatherings to large community events. Using Toi Māori as a pathway, she helps people deepen their understanding of culture and strengthen their connection to the natural world and to each other. Her wānanga weave mātauranga Māori, toi Māori, and rongoā Māori – Māori arts, knowledge and healing – and she has shared these with schools, marae, prisons, and communities across Aotearoa. Passionate about toi Māori, Sharne has been honoured with awards for both her artistry and the difference her work makes in people’s lives.
For The Muster, Sharne will be leading workshops based on traditional Māori instruments such as taonga puoro and hue. These sessions offer a chance to listen, learn, and reconnect through sound, story, and hands-on experience.

Anna Thompson has been taking care of the pelvises of Southland for more than 20 years. As a born and bred rural Southlander, she was eager to spread her wings after high school – but, as is often the case, she quickly returned to Southland after university and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.
As a pelvic floor physio, Anna helps the women, men and children of Southland with their pelvic healthcare. She helps with things like bladder and bowel control, prolapse (think bearings – yes, we can experience that too), pregnancy and postpartum care, pain with sex, period pain, and more.
Anna is beyond passionate about empowering you to get to know your own body – how to prevent pelvic floor issues and how to address them yourself. Anna will be hosting workshops at The Muster - join one of her workshops, or get a pelvic floor check while at The Muster.