Day or night you'll always find something going on. From BIG international acts to little intimate shows, take delight in theatre, music, comedy, festivals and dance at Vector Arena or THE EDGE's Aotea Centre, Civic and Town Hall. Or check out the BIG little city’s jam packed event calendar!
Auckland Festival of Sailing1st March - 25th March 2010Waitemata Harbour
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. |
Auckland International Boat Show11th March - 14th March 2010Viaduct Harbour and Viaduct Harbour Marine Village
The Auckland International Boat Show 2010 will fill the Viaduct Harbour in Auckland with a huge selection of locally made and imported yachts, launches and trailer boats, and the latest in marine electronics and boat equipment.
A selection of classic yachts presented by the Classic Yacht Association will provide a wonderful spectacle. These yachts have survived owing to the qualities of the New Zealand kauri timber they are made from, and a tradition of fine craftmanship. |
Art Sunday12pm - 5pm, 14th MarchKhartoum Place & Lorne St's
Art Sunday coincides with the opening of The 4th Auckland Triennial and with all the Precinct businesses open on that Sunday as well as free entertainment and giveaways it should be a great day. |
Easter in the BIG little city1st April - 5th April 2010across Auckland City
The Easter Holiday's are just around the corner and we've 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 enjoy your Easter break in the BIG little city. |
Avenue Q13th May - 23rd May 2010The Civic, THE EDGE - for a limited time
The smash hit Broadway musical Avenue Q is finally coming to |
Wonderland - The Magic of the Rose4 Dec 2009 - 16 Apr 2010Auckland Museum
About 125 million years ago the first flowers unfurled and a new bloom of colour swept our world. More than 124 million years later the first human plucked a flower to adorn their hair. Our floral love affair had begun. This is the story of flowers, told through two of our most beloved blooms, the orchid and the rose.
From 4 December 2009, The Magic of the Rose unravels the fabulous tales of love, passion and secrecy that have made the Rose revered by royalty, praised by poets, and enjoyed by gardeners and the world. |
Music in Parks1st January - 31st March 2010Various Auckland City Locations
For more than 16 years, we have proudly been providing free Kiwi music in our city's stunning parks and reserves. The 2009 programme from January to March featured more than 40 concerts showcasing Auckland's creativity and talent, fostering the local music scene and bringing Aucklanders together.
The 2010 series programme will be available soon. |
The Cultural Garden2nd January - 31st March 2010Various Auckland locations
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. |
City Designers Market9th January - 31st December 2010FreyBerg Square, High St
The City Designers Market located in the Ellen Melville Pioneer Womens Hall in Freyberg Square platforms New Zealand's hottest up and coming fashion designers. The markets trade on Fridays 9am – 6pm, Saturdays 10am – 5pm.
To find the City Designers Market, head to: Freyberg Square, off High Street. |
City Farmers Market at Britomart9th January - 31st December 2010Cnr Galway & Gore St's, Britomart
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 Rotunda10th January - 28th March 2010Auckland Domain
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. |
Movies in Parks10th February - 18th March 2010Various parks across Auckland
Movies in Parks is back again in 2010 with an impressive 12 midweek kiwi films across four Auckland parks - Tahaki Reserve, Glover Park, Grey Lynn Park and Owairaka Park.
Collapsing Cities will launch the series with their dynamic sound of artfully droll pop, followed by reggae up shots Sonz of Zion and soncially rich The Broken Heartbreakers. 'The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls', 'Goodbye Pork Pie' and 'Rain of the Children' are just some of the great kiwi films on offer. Bring your blanket, some nibbles and enjoy the cinema. |
Voyager’s Festival of Sailing Admission Offer1st March - 31st March 2010Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum
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. |
Pasifika Festival Highlights at THE EDGE12pm 8th March to 5pm 12th MarchLevel 5, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE
Aucklanders will be able to get a sneak preview of Pasifika at the Aotea Centre, THE EDGE, when it is transformed into a Pacific arts studio. There will be a host of local and international artists rehearsing their performances and preparing theirs crafts for Auckland’s highly anticipated and much loved Pasifika Festival.
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Louis Vuitton Pacific Series9th March - 21st March 2010Waitemata Harbour
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. |
The Importance of Being Earnest11th March - 3rd April 2010Maidment Theatre
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. |
The Pixies12th MarchVector Arena
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their classic 1989 album, Doolittle , Pixies - Black Francis, Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and David Lovering - have embarked on a very special tour – “The Doolittle Tour” – which arrives at Vector Arena in March 2010. For the Doolittle Tour, Pixies will perform all of the songs from Doolittle and its related B-sides. Pixies' classics such as "Debaser," "Wave of Mutilation," "Here Comes Your Man," "Hey," and "Gouge Away" are all on Doolittle's track listing. This will be first New Zealand visit by Pixies, and follows on from sell-out 2009 European and US tours showcasing Doolittle. |
Cobra Starship12th MarchGreat Hall, Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE
In March Cobra Starship will return to Auckland's BIG little city in support of their recently released third album Hot Mess (available now through Warner) as headliners in their own right. Their most celebrated record to date, Hot Mess sees Cobra Starship in fine form. Debuting at #4 on the US Billboard chart – their highest chart peak to date – confirms to the world that Cobra Starship have well and truly landed. With a history of igniting audiences and outshining their contemporaries, there’s no doubt tickets to see Cobra Starship’s first headline tour of Australia and New Zealand will be in high demand. |
Last Ride in a Hot Air Balloon12th March - 20th June 2010Auckland Art Gallery
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. |
Converge8pm - 11:30pm, 12th MarchKings Arms
The Groove Guide, with Anchor & Shogun presents Converge New Zealand Tour, Auckland and Wellington March 2010. Converge, formed in the winter of 1990 and self described as "hardcore kids with leftover Slayer riffs", an uncompromised artistic vision and an array of influences ranging from The Cure and Black Sabbath to Black Flag, (notably being described as the former of this generation). Such ingredients have led the band to be credited with giving rise to an entire genre whilst retaining an individuality in their sound that is completely their own. The band have earned a die hard cult following world wide. This will be a monumental tour for the strong Kiwi fanbase that has waited years to see Converge; and with the chosen venues being notorious for sellout crowds, this tour promises to deliver unforgettable experiences. |
Lady Gaga - The Monster Tour13th March - 14th March 2010Vector Arena
Lady Gaga returns to New Zealand in March 2010 for a much-demanded headline tour. The New Zealand tour will feature a spectacular new arena production and full band, and follows her high-octane performance with The Pussycat Dolls in Auckland earlier this year. 2009 has been hailed the Year of Gaga as the enigmatic superstar breaks records and tops charts around the globe. Her debut album The Fame reached the top ten in over 20 countries worldwide, with New Zealand being amongst the first to embrace the divinely intriguing Lady Gaga who has clocked up double platinum sales and four top ten singles on the official New Zealand chart. |
Pasifika Festival Day10am - 5pm, 13th MarchWestern Springs
Pasifika Festivals' "festival day" is when Pacific communities from Auckland, New Zealand and overseas come together to celebrate their rich cultures through food, dance, music and arts.
On the day, you can experience the resonating sounds of the beating of tapa, see the flickering of the pandanus strips woven into a mat, smell the mouth-watering scents of the succulent crackling pig and fresh tropical taste watermelon and pineapple with ice cream. And that's just the beginning.
Pasifika Festival brings together our diverse Pacific nations, celebrating their unity, and at the same time, their diversity. Each Pacific nation is unique in terms of their history, language, culture and traditions, and festival day gives you a taste of each nation in its own "village", with traditional and contemporary performing arts, music and crafts.
The villages also feature the best of Pacific cuisine, such as raw fish, pineapple pies, fresh coconuts and much more to enjoy! |
Harry Connick Jr.8pm - 10:30pm, 13th MarchThe Civic, THE EDGE
Harry Connick, Jr, one of the today’s most versatile and accomplished entertainers - pianist, singer, composer and bandleader - brings his many musical talents to The Civic with his exceptional touring band. |
Russell Peters8pm - 10:30pm, 15th MarchASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE
The eagerly awaited return of the global comedy 'rock-star'. Russell Peters brings his hilarious The Green Card Tour to New Zealand featuring all-new material, video screens and DJ's. |
The Dead Weather17th MarchThe Powerstation
The Frontier Touring Company are pleased to announce that one of this year’s most acclaimed rock groups The Dead Weather are heading to our shores for the first time ever in March 2010. Birthed from a collision of some of the greatest musicians in the genre, The Dead Weather includes Alison Mosshart of The Kills on lead vocals, Jack White, originally of The White Stripes on drums, White’s Raconteur bandmate Jack Lawrence on bass and former Raconteur Dean Fertita, also of Queens of the Stone Age, on guitar. This is a show not to be missed! |
From Here To There7:30pm 17th March to 10:30pm 20th MarchASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE
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. |
Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls7:30pm - 11:30pm, 17th MarchKings Arms
A one-woman machine, The Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer is a rock musician, artist, writer, political activist and more. With a penchant for the complicated, Amanda Palmer's debut solo outing Who Killed Amanda Palmer (out now through Roadrunner) snowballed from a small idea into a project that's nothing short of brilliant.
Who Killed Amanda Palmer sees our fearless heroine weaving together the many threads of her personality, her interests, her extensive artistic family, her astute, witty world observations and the stark openness of her feelings into a dynamic record that pushes emotional limits while staying true to its genius creator. From Amanda Palmer, we would expect nothing less. |
That Face18th March - 10th April 2010Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE
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. |
Old Crow Medicine Show7:30pm - 11:30pm, 18th MarchThe Powerstation
On the back of their current DVD release Live at the Orange Peel and the fantastic reception they received last tour, Old Crow Medicine Show return to New Zealand. The band first toured New Zealand early in 2009 and left audiences in awe of the musical tour de force that is Old Crow Medicine Show. It’s fast & furious — so bluegrass and folk lovers, hipsters and country fans, be prepared to get down in a whole new way once these five boys from Nashville take to the stage. |
Al Di Meola World Sinfonia8pm - 10:30pm, 18th MarchAuckland Town Hall, THE EDGE
A bona fide guitar hero, perennial poll-winner and virtuoso of the highest order, Al Di Meola has also been recognized over the past 30 years as a prolific composer and respected artist with over 20 recordings as a leader.
Voted “ worlds best guitarist’ several times by Guitar Player Magazine |
Lyle Lovette7pm - 10:30pm, 20th MarchThe Civic, THE EDGE
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. Finely wrought and full of wit, wisdom and Texas-sized storytelling, the veteran songwriter's catalogue is rife with characters and concepts that loom large on the American landscape. Fans can expect to hear classics, favourites and a selection of new songs taken from his forthcoming album release Natural Forces. |
Raekwon7:30pm - 11:30pm, 20th MarchThe Powerstation
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. |
BMW Sailing Cup World Final 201021st March - 25th March 2010Waitemata Harbour and off Eastern Beach
The 2010 BMW Sailing Cup World Final is the culmination for one talented New Zealand crew of a month of sailing during the BMW Sailing Cup and BMW Auckland Regatta.The BMW Sailing Cup features divisional winners in the BMW Auckland Regatta (26-28 February).
The BMW Auckland Regatta is organized in partnership with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, with divisions including classic yachts, multihull and sports boats attracting top-class, amateur sailors from around the country. |
The Swell Season7:30pm - 11pm, 23rd MarchASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE
The Swell Season, the Oscar-winning duo of Frames front man Glen and Marketa both starred in Once, which was of course the independent 2007 Irish film, a low-budget romantic musical portraying struggling artists, which slowly won the hearts of audiences worldwide. |
Massive Attack7pm - 11pm, 25th MarchVector Arena
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 Wiggles27th March - 28th March 2010Vector Arena
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.
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Earth Hour 20107:30pm - 10pm, 27th MarchTakutai Lawn, Britomart
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. |
Double Shot: 'C'8am 31st MarchConcert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE
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. |
Dr John7:30pm - 11:30pm, 7th AprilThe Civic, Aotea Centre, THE EDGE
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. |
Crowded House7pm - 11pm, 8th AprilGreat Hall, Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE
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 20109th April - 18th April 2010Auckland CBD
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. |
Carole King and James Taylor10th AprilVector Arena
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.
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Kelly Clarkson11th AprilVector Arena
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. |
