It's the last weekend to watch screenings for the NZIFF in Auckland, including Indian drama film All We Imagine As Light.
New openings, final chances and several one-off events will be held across Tāmaki Makaurau this weekend. The question remains, what will you choose to do?
If you have the joy of some free time this weekend, we’ve got a list of interesting, fun, yummy and useful ways to fill it. There’s an art opening in Northcote; food trucks at Narrow Neck; The Baby Show at the Auckland Showgrounds; the final weekend of the NZ International Film Festival; a dance party; a repair cafe; a new museum in an old building and some poetry and comedy to put in your diary for next week.
Up the culture quotient of your weekend by heading over to Northart this Saturday afternoon for the opening of their latest exhibition, The Expanded Field of Print. An exhibition by the members of the Print Council of Aotearoa, it’s a large-scale show that pushes the boundaries of typical printmaking practices. You’ll see traditional prints, experimental works, floor-based prints, hanging installations and more. For The Expanded Field of Print, The Print Council encouraged artists to explore new territory in their printmaking practice as you’ll see from the 40 prints that have been selected for the exhibition by artist and researcher Steve Lovett, who will be on-site for the opening to give a floor talk. If the exhibition gets your creative juices flowing, there’s also a series of public events running alongside it including various printmaking workshops and artist talks.
When: Opening August 17, 1-3pm (On view August 20-September 14).
Where: Northart, Norman King Square, Ernie Mays Street, Te Kopua o Matakamokamo, Northcote Central.
Price: Free entry.
If you’re in the vicinity of Narrow Neck or feel like an evening drive, take cooking dinner off your weekend to-do list and head on over there where you’ll find the Food Truck Collective parked up and serving some super tasty kai. Because it’s winter, they won’t have their usual seating area set up but you could always rug up and bring a picnic blanket or take it to go. In the convoy this weekend is Phong Nha Limited, Double Dutch Fries, Hapunan, Ma Va Pizza, Bear Gelato and Sweet as Crepes. Excuse us while we salivate over the thought of steaming hot Vietnamese spring rolls with a sweet chaser of some chocolate fudge brownie gelato.
When: August 17, 5pm-8pm.
Where: Woodall Park, Narrow Neck Beach, Auckland.
Price: Free entry.
It’s the last weekend of the NZIFF and if you haven’t been to see anything yet, this is your final boarding call, the festival is ready to depart and all remaining films are waiting for you. There’s still a whopping 29 films and film collections playing this weekend including several of the festival’s highlights like The Substance starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid, and Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix winner All We Imagine As Light. There are also loads of locally made films screening this weekend, some with post-screening Q & As, as well as New Zealand’s Best 2024, a collection of the best local short films of the year. Spend this chilly weekend in the comfort of a darkened theatre and escape into the world of cinema for an hour or two … or three.
When: August 7-21.
Where: Various cinemas in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Price: Visit nziff.co.nz for the full schedule and tickets.
Before you go chucking that broken chair or holey cardigan into landfill, consider taking a trip out to the very charming Nathan Homestead in Manurewa, where this Saturday there’s a repair cafe. Run by Doughnut Economics Advocates New Zealand - side note, doughnut economics is a concept worth exploring - you can bring in anything from bikes to clothing to electronics to small appliances and more. Those doing the repairing are all volunteers who enjoy sharing their skills, saving things from landfill and helping their community out. If you’re happy with the repair, or just believe in the mission, then they’d love a koha to help keep these cafes up and running. DEANZ Repair Cafes regularly pop up on Saturdays in New Lynn, Grey Lynn, the CBD, Onehunga, Ōrewa, Pukekohe and Te Atatū so the next time something goes kaput, check their Facebook page and find a repair cafe before saying sayonara to a salvageable item.
When: August 17, 11.30am-2.30pm.
Where: Nathan Homestead Pukepuke, 70 Hill Rd, Hillpark, Auckland.
Price: Free entry.
Calling all pregnant people and parents of young children, this weekend is The Baby Show at Auckland Showgrounds, where you can find everything you could ever need for a new child and some you don’t but will buy anyway. This is absolutely the place to go if you’re in the market for a new pram because they’re setting up a pram test track where you can test drive a wide range of buggies on four different terrains to see which one of these bad boys will suit your lifestyle, be it baby off-roading or mall cruising. There are discount deals, seminars, demonstrations and experts on hand to give you their top baby-rearing tips, plus prizes and more. Suzy Cato will be providing the entertainment for the babies and their siblings and, if you’ve got Olympic aspirations for your offspring or a speed-crawler on your hands, you can enter them in the Pureness Baby Diaper Derby and put their hands and knees to the test.
When: August 17-18, 9am-4pm.
Where: Auckland Showgrounds, 217 Green Lane West, Epsom, Auckland.
Price: Tickets $10 (children under 16 free) from babyshow.co.nz or on the gate.
Dust off your dancing shoes and wear your pride on your sleeve this Saturday night at the party of the year: Misbehaviour at East Street Hall. More than just a dance party, Misbehaviour features DJs, dancers and performers like Jared + Trish, Chels and Ryan Borne - it’s a guaranteed good time. The Misbehaviour series started in 2021 as a late-night event for queer performers, queer artists, the wider LGBTQI+ community and allies. If you love love in all the colours of the rainbow and are in the mood to party, Misbehaviour is the place to do it.
When: August 17, 10pm-late.
Where: East Street Hall, 5 East St, Auckland.
Price: Tickets start at $45 + booking fees from misbehaviour.flicket.co.nz Members of the queer community in financial hardship can request complimentary tickets by emailing misbehaviour@818.co.nz
The historic Hopetoun Alpha building has housed many communities since it was built by the Beresford St Congregationalists in 1875 but none quite like its newest tenants. It’s been a long time in the making but Aotearoa’s first legal dispensary and cannabis consumption venue opened last week in the iconic building. What was once simply the Whakamana Cannabis Museum has now expanded into a cannabis super-centre of sorts including a legal medicinal cannabis dispensary, the Calyx Clinic medicinal cannabis prescriber, a social club for cannabis patients and Australasia’s first “cannabis consumption friendly” events venue. It’s called the Green House and is the brainchild of cannabis expert and activist Abe Gray, made possible with the help of local investors. Anyone curious about cannabis can wander through the museum and get an education on the wonders of the wacky baccy and everything the Green House can offer, legally of course.
When: Open Saturdays 10am-2pm, weekdays 10am-3pm.
Where: Green House, Hopetoun Alpha, 19 Beresford Square, Auckland Central.
Price: Free entry.
If a midwinter belly laugh is what the doctor ordered, then get yourself tickets to one, two or even all three shows at next week’s three-night Comedy Festival at the ASB Waterfront Theatre. It opens on Thursday with the Best Comedy Show on Earth hosted by local Instagram icon, the effortlessly funny Tom Sainsbury, and featuring 10 of our best comedians, including Courtney Dawson, David Correos, Wilson Dixon and Angella Dravid. On Friday, another Insta superstar - Chris Parker - is bringing back his hit comedy show Give Me One Good Reason Why I Shouldn’t Throw My Phone Off This Bridge - Encore! And, if you’re missing your nightly Desi fix on Shortland Street, Saturday night’s show is Kura Forrester’s Here if You Need, one of the big hits of the 2023 Comedy Festival. Find a date or gather a group and get some laughter out of the week ahead - it truly is the best medicine.
When: August 22-24.
Where: ASB Waterfront Theatre, 138 Halsey St, Auckland.
Price: Tickets start at $29 + booking fees from asbwaterfronttheatre.co.nz
Friday is Phantom Billstickers National Poetry Day and, beyond penning a sweet sonnet for your beloved, you can celebrate by attending any one of the many events across Tāmaki Makaurau. Of course, there’s poetry all around us all the time but over the coming week it’s going to be much easier to spot. You might find a hidden poetry book at a bus stop, train station or ferry terminal - you can take the book and enjoy it, then leave it to be discovered by someone else. For live poetry readings, check out Poetry at the Pub in Waiwera, All Tomorrow’s Poets at Time Out Bookstore, Great Grey Lynn Poetry & Pizza Congress 2024 at Grey Lynn Library or Homeground Poets Poetry Night at the Leys Institute, among many others, including plenty of opportunities to share your own poetry. If you’re in the city on Friday, head up to Albert Park for Chalk Poetry on the pavement around the band rotunda or stop into the Central Library and let SP the Poet write you an original piece of poetry right there on the spot. There are loads of interactive events all over the city and the country for National Poetry Day so check out their website and keep your eyes peeled for poetry next week.
When: August 23 (with additional events throughout the coming week).
Where: Various locations around Tāmaki Makaurau.
Price: Visit poetryday.co.nz for the full schedule.
The scandalous true-crime murder case that shocked New Zealand.