Auckland City Events

Some of the worlds elite yatchsmen and women will ascend into Auckland this coming March for a new festival dedicated to one of Auckland City's favourite pastimes. The Auckland Festival of Sailing will bring together top international match racing skippers and teams and top ranked amateurs for the 23 days of racing consisting of 3 separate regattas.

Off the water activities, events and entertainment will take place at the festival hub to be established on the Viaduct.

The Easter Holiday's are just around the corner and  we have  put  together a list of the best of whats on in and around Auckland City. Enjoy a family day out at the Royal Easter Show at the ASB Showgrounds, dance till the early hours at Our:House at the Ellerslie Event Centre, or catch the final days of the Auckland Theatre Co.'s The Importance of Being Earnest at the Maidment Theatre. Or, if its a little R & R your after, try a Guinot Signature Facial Treatment at the Hyatt Regency. There are plenty of exciting things to do. Have a look at the list we've put together below and start planning your Easter break in the BIG little city.

The smash hit Broadway musical Avenue Q is finally coming to Auckland. Since beating Wicked for three major Tony Awards in 2004, Avenue Q has gone on to be one of the longest running shows on Broadway, and remains a huge hit on London’s West End. After a tour throughout Australia to rave reviews and sold-out houses, the hilarious, R-rated and highly entertaining night out hits Auckland.

For more than 16 years, we have proudly been providing free Kiwi music in our city's stunning parks and reserves.

The Culture Garden presents a wide range of niche musical genres in Auckland's most intimate park settings. This is an opportunity to both discover new music and relish in the proven talents of Steve Abel, the New Zealand Opera and Forbidden Joe.

Exciting additions to this year's line-up include members of the New Zealand Youth Choir and the Waitakere Brass Band. If dancing is your cup of tea, check out the ever popular Tea Dances, complete with dance floor for couples dancing.

8:30am - 12:30pm

A farmers’ market is a food market where local growers, farmers and artisan food producers sell their wares directly to consumers. Vendors may only sell what they grow, farm, pickle, preserve, bake, smoke or catch themselves from within a defined local area.

The City Farmers’ Market operates in the centre of Auckland’s Britomart precinct and brings a bounty of regional produce to town for Aucklanders every week.

Fresh, seasonal, quality fruit and vegetables, eggs, meat, olives and olive oils, condiments, coffee, artisan breads and much more — direct from local growers, farmers and makers.

The market operates all year long on Saturdays between 8.30am & 12.30pm on a site behind the Britomart Trainstation, on Gore Street.

Jazz at the Rotunda is Auckland's longest running jazz festival. This year the series boasts 12 weekly jazz concerts set in the historic Auckland Domain Band Rotunda.

Enjoy breezy Sunday afternoons with Miho Wada, the Lewis McCallum Band and Tony Parker's New Orleans Joy Makers. Support acts are an exciting new feature of Jazz at the Rotunda, with beautiful originals by Coach kicking off the series, and David Ferrington of Edinburgh giving Jazz at the Rotunda an international dose of blues.

To celebrate Auckland’s Festival of Sailing, Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum is inviting Aucklanders to discover how our region’s love-affair with sailing began. Between 1-31 March, Auckland region residents can visit the museum’s galleries, including Blue Water Black Magic – A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake, for just $5, with free admission for accompanying children aged 14 years or under.

Aucklanders only need to bring proof of address to take advantage of the offer, which does not include Voyager Live heritage vessel experiences.  Full details on the Voyager website.

Life has been full of journeys for Pippa Blake, and now she is using canvas to tell the story. An exhibition of her paintings, called Journey, is on at the Louis Vuitton store on Queen St.

The fine arts graduate and accomplished painter has been hard at work in London for the past six years completing a post-graduate fine arts course. She says this exhibition is a collection of pieces from different series, all linked by the common thread of journeys, both literal and metaphorical. 

Eight of the world's best sailing teams will battle it out in the Louis Vuitton Trophy match race regatta on Auckland's sparkling Waitemata Harbour during the Auckland Festival of Sailing.The teams, from seven nations from around the globe, will sail America's Cup yachts on inshore courses from 9 to 21 March.

The Auckland event is one of five regattas in the newly-created Louis Vuitton Trophy series being raced around the world this year. It was the success of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, sailed in Auckland last year, which inspired the worldwide series.

Under his suave exterior, Jack Worthing is all fluster and panic. He’s besotted with Gwendolen Fairfax, daughter of the shedragon of London society Lady Bracknell, and cousin of his friend Algernon. For his part, Algernon is very keen on Jack’s pretty young ward, Cecily. But marriage is out of the question until the mystery of Jack’s parentage is solved. Just how did he come to be found in a handbag? And in a cloakroom at Victoria Station? And, of course, Lady Bracknell has no intention of giving her consent until she has established Jack’s creditworthiness!

One-hundred-odd years on from its spectacular debut, Oscar Wilde’s “trivial comedy for serious people” is as fresh and scintillating and subversive as ever.

A ‘Singing Cloud’ made up of 4000 microphones, love letters staged as political protests, sailing, surfing, birds flying, performance, an eco-friendly home and over 20 works newly commissioned to fit the theme…and that’s just a taste of New Zealand’s leading international contemporary art exhibition the 4th Auckland Triennial, Last Ride in a Hot Air Balloon.

This year, after 3 years in the making, you will be the first in the world to see works that have been especially created for the Triennial, as well as a range of contemporary art from around the world. Presented by the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki with Auckland Triennial Partner AUT University and in association with exhibition partners Artspace, St Paul St and The George Fraser Gallery.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet presents The Tower Season of From Here To There

Elegant and thought-provoking, the TOWER Season of From Here to There, provides a trio of works from New Zealand and overseas.
 
A Song In The Dark, is the much-anticipated new work by one of New Zealand’s emerging choreographic talents, Andrew Simmons. Set to music by Philip Glass and embracing themes of missed opportunities, love and beauty in the ordinary; Simmons injects a new sense of style and energy to classical ballet.

Henry has dropped out of school to look after Mummy Dearest. Mia is about to be booted out all of her own accord. Mummy is a beautifully spoken monster, drunkenly indulging her own decline. And Daddy? In absentia, but rushing home from Hong Kong to fix things as only his money can.

And now it’s time for this fractured family to face a reality they have avoided for far too long. In a real mother of a play, Generation Y bites back at the Baby Boomers.

Lyle Lovett takes to the road for his first-ever Australasian tour. The four-time Grammy winner is one of America’s finest singer-songwriters, leading a remarkable 20-year career spanning 13 albums and over four million records sold.

Since his debut solo LP went platinum, Raekwon The Chef has solidified his place as a certified rap legend. Now with the release of the sequel, this long standing member of the Wu Tang Clan brings the raw side of hip hop to the NZ masses — with support from Mareko and DJ Sir Vere.

When Raekwon speaks, everyone listens. The current void in hip-hop is filled with this rap veteran’s crafty verbal gymnastics and artistic form of storytelling. The Chef still possesses the recipe to cook up a lyrical meal, a jambalaya of words with the main ingredient being superior skills. Animated and intense, Raekwon’s stealth delivery is filled with emotion, skilled cadence and an array of diverse stories, hooks, and topics.

The Swell Season, the Oscar-winning duo of Frames front man
Glen Hansard and Czech pianist and vocalist Marketa Irglova, are travelling to New Zealand for a highly-anticipated Australasian March/April 2010 tour following their mesmerising Australian performances in early 2009, including multiple sold out Sydney Opera House concerts for the Sydney Festival in January.

Massive Attack, the UK’s ‘trip-hop’ pioneers, bring their haunting and hypnotic fusion of hazy beats, dub, hauntingly soulful melodies and choice samples to Vector Arena this March. 

Founding members Robert Del Naja (3D) and Grant Marshall (Daddy G) will be joined on tour by vocalists Horace Andy, Deborah Miller, Martina Topley-Bird, and band members Damon Reece (drums), Angelo Bruschini (guitar), John Baggott (keyboards), Winston Blissett (bass) and Julien Brown (drums). 

Tickets go on sale Friday, February 5 with pre-sales starting from Friday, January 22.

The Wiggles are thrilled to announce they will be bringing their NEW live show to New Zealand in 2010! Join Sam, Jeff, Anthony and Murray and their world-famous Wiggly friends for the happiest show in town, on stage around NZ in March 2010.

Everyone loves a circus, and this Wiggly show has acrobats, gymnasts and dancers! Every second brings a new delight. On stage with The Wiggles will be Dorothy The Dinosaur, Henry The Octopus, Wags The Dog, Captain Feathersword and of course, The Wiggly Dancers.

Be quick! Get your Wiggly tickets now. They’ll sell like hot poppin’ popcorn!

To celebrate Earth Hour 2010, from 7:30pm Saturday March 27, Heart of the City along with Britomart, Auckland City Council, MORE FM and WWF will host a free event at Takutai Lawn in Britomart.

The free event will have live entertainment and will be a gathering point in Auckland City to view the Sky Tower lighting display. So bring a picnic, your picnic rug, candles, friends and family and watch Auckland City plunge into darkness. 

Palindrome Productions in association with STAMP at THE EDGE presents Double Shot: 'C'

A unique opportunity to get artists and audiences working together. STAMP takes an original production that is in development, gives the company two opportunities to show their work in front of a live audience – with time between each showing to refine the work.

Hip hop meets opera, meets a love story that will leave you breathless.

If there’s one thing New Zealanders agree on, it’s the need for some smart thinking about the future of our economy. LATE 02 brings together three of the country’s leading economic thinkers, Tim Hazeldine, Brian Gaynor and Susan St John, and asks them to dissect our financial history, then mark out their vision for a prosperous economic future. The night’s entertainment includes New Zealand songstress Jan Hellriegel, and The Bellbirds, a band featuring the talents of Don McGlashan and SJD’s Sean Donnelly.

Dance to the wee hours of the morning with OUR:HOUSE’s Easter Weekend special nite:life. See the Ellerslie Events Centre transformed into a themed, multi-zoned special event on the festival calendar for 2010.

Starting at the twilight hour of 8pm and running until sunrise, with both indoor and outdoor party zones, kick off the last weekend of daylight savings in style at Nite:Life- The Experience”.

There’s no other New Orleans musician operating today who is as great as Dr John, pure and simple. Best of all, the man has a real fire in his belly again, proven by the new Dr John and the Lower 911’s album City That Care Forgot, which deals with various aspects of post-Katrina New Orleans outrage. Facts speak for themselves and this remarkable album won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2009.

Dr. John’s very colourful musical career began in the 1950s when he wrote and played guitar on some of the greatest records to come out of the Crescent City. A notorious gun incident forced Dr. John to give up the guitar and concentrate on organ and piano. Further trouble at home sent him west in the 1960s, where he continued to be in demand as a session musician, playing on records by Sonny and Cher, Van Morrison and Aretha Franklin to name a few. A legend was born with his breakthrough 1968 album Gris-gris, which established his unique blend of voodoo mysticism, funk, rhythm and blues, psychedelic rock and Creole roots.

Neil Finn has crafted some of the most memorable lyrics and melodies in music starting with those first bars of One Step Ahead and I Got You and is one of the most gifted songwriters to perform on the world stage in the last 25 years.

Together with fellow musicians; Nick Seymour, Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod, Finn as front man and creative force behind the band Crowded House has provided us with a rich tapestry of songs from the band including; Don’t Dream its Over, Something So Strong, Fall At Your Feet, Weather With You (with Tim Finn), Four Seasons in One Day, Distant Sun, Locked Out, She Called Up not to mention five Crowded House albums of exceptional depth and colour.

Living Room is a curated public art event that brings an exciting programme of live performance art, film and video works created by international and local artists to the streets of Auckland's city centre.

Living Room 2010 is curated by Pontus Kyander, a curator and art critic with roots in Scandinavia. Pontus has also most recently been responsible for the public art programming for Auckland City Council. The theme for Living Room 2010 is "A Week of Goodness" - using ideas of giving and kindness as a departure point for a flight of associations, bearing constantly in mind that every gift comes with a string attached.

This once-in-a-lifetime event brings together two of the most beloved singer/songwriters for a rare concert experience, performing in a one off show at Vector Arena. The two-hour show will feature a breadth of material including songs they performed during their 1970 debut show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, which helped propel them both to the world stage.

The idea for the ‘Troubadour Reunion’ tour came together in 2007 after King and Taylor performed at the famed Los Angeles venue for the first time since 1970 to celebrate the Troubadour’s 50th Anniversary. The shows sold-out immediately and garnered rave reviews from fans and critics alike.

Kelly Clarkson, the world’s first ‘American Idol,’ now a certified pop sensation, is bringing her 'ALL I EVER WANTED TOUR' to New Zealand. Clarkson latest studio album, All I Ever Wanted has been dominating airwaves since it’s March 2009 release, and in April 2010 she will be hitting our shores with her infectious, high-energy live show. Tickets go on sale Thursday 12 November. Don’t miss your chance to see US pop sensation Kelly Clarkson live in April 2010. Your life would suck without this show.

"If Prince was an English hippie who was obsessed with Bobby McFerrin-esque percussion and had long cinnamon dreadlocks, you'd have Faulkner." rollingstone.com

It's safe to say that Newton Faulkner is one of the family now, and following his visit to New Zealand on Bluesfest 08, our favourite young folk hero is coming back next March to make himself at home on our stages once again.

The distinctive voice and songs of Roger Hodgson are instantly recognizable from the first few bars. The legendary voice, writer and arranger of most of Supertramp’s greatest hits, responsible for selling 60 million albums, gives us a raft of enduring songs, including Give a Little Bit, Dreamer, It's Raining Again, Take the Long Way Home, The Logical Song, Breakfast In America, and Fool’s Overture. His equally distinctive keyboard, piano and guitar sound adds to their magic.

Hodgson co-founded Supertramp with Rick Davies, in 1969 and was the heart and soul of the band for 14 years. He played a major role in aranging and producing all the Supertramp albums released during the band’s “Golden Years” until his departure in 1983. He then moved away from the music industry to the mountains of Northern California, where he chose to focus on raising his children, living a quiet life amongst nature, and pursuing his spiritual values.

A tasty yum cha feast of poetry, music, rap and moving image. Funky Oriental Beats started as a platform for Kiwi-Asian performing artists to reach out to the wider community and showcase their unique work. Our voices come from the collision of cultures. Now three years and two concerts on, FOB is evolving.

Following intensive writing and performance workshops, veteran performers are joined by fresh new voices showcasing the best of contemporary Kiwi-Asian performance. Nothing is certain – everything is new. We seek to challenge, inspire and amaze you. And to treasure our stories, which are also yours.

The NZSO starts its 2010 Season in definite excellence. Guest soloist Hilary Hahn - winner of two Grammy Awards - is a young, brilliant violinist with a dazzling and sophisticated presence. On her return visit to New Zealand, she performs Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, one of the most exalted and emotive concertos ever written. The Orchestra rounds up the evening with Tchaikovsky’s ever popular Symphony No.6 Pathétique - his final and finest symphony - throbbing with life and humour. A stand-out event conducted by NZSO Music Director Pietari Inkinen.

Conductor: Pietari Inkinen
Violin: Hilary Hahn

The word Grandeur conjures up words such as brilliance, greatness and beauty - a few words that describe the music in these performances. Pietari Inkinen, Music Director of the NZSO, is expecting nothing less from the Orchestra as they perform Strauss’ Metamorphosen and Bruckner’s Symphony No.7. Metamorphosen is Strauss’ most personal utterance: a serene, grief-stricken, enraged and finally resigned and peaceful composition. Bruckner’s Symphony No.7 will win you over with its colour, lyricism, good humour and delicacy.

Be swept away by the glamour and glory of the waltz. Celebrate with the NZSO the sound of romance in the most hypnotic and graceful of dances. NZSO’s Music Director, Pietari Inkinen, leads the Orchestra in the music of Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Sibelius and - the undisputed King of this world - Johann Strauss Junior.

Strauss: On the Beautiful Blue Danube
Chopin: Les Sylphides Valse and Grande valse brillante
Sibelius: Valse triste
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin - Waltz and Polonaise
Farquhar: Ring Round the Moon Tango and Waltzes
Strauss: Emperor Waltz