The Waiheke Winter Arts Festival showcases the island's creative side and offers the chance to meet artists in their own studios. There are galleries to visit, plus the Sunday Craft Market and a Queen's Birthday High Tea. A festival map lets you plan a self-drive itinerary or you can catch the Arts Festival Hopper bus. It takes place at Queen's Birthday weekend, June 4-5, and costs $25 a person.
Contact: (09) 372 9907
Stars of the night
Experience cinema under the stars at the Drive-In Movie Festival at Mt Maunganui's Baypark Stadium, June 1-5. Movies will be projected on to a 30m screen and broadcast on your car's stereo. Genres include horror, Kiwi classic, recent release, family feature and people's choice, and to add to the atmosphere there'll be waitresses on roller skates and stalls selling Coke, popcorn, hotdogs and icecream.
Rising star
During June Tai Tokerau celebrates Matariki, the Maori New Year, with events throughout Northland. The festival brings people together for workshops, exhibitions, guided tours, kapa haka performances, tree plantings, theatre, kai evenings and more.
Reels of romance
The Wairoa Maori Film Festival is a celebration of Maori and indigenous film-making, with this year's theme "Maori Romance". It starts on June 2 at Wairoa's Taihoa Marae with a powhiri, welcome dinner and evening of film, then moves to Kahungunu Marae, Nuhaka, until June 6. Passes start at $80. Options include marae accommodation and meals.
Champagne tastes
Kauri Cliffs in Northland, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers and Queenstown's Matakauri Lodge will host four Winter Food & Wine Weekends that bring together chefs and winemakers from New Zealand and overseas. The weekends allow free time for on-site options such as golf, day spas, and scenic walks.
