What to do in Auckland this weekend: Comedy, art and free gelato

Little ’Lato in Ponsonby is giving away free scoops of its award-winning pink wafer gelato today.

If you’re looking for something to cheer you up this weekend, you’ll find it here. Our collection of the best things to do in Auckland is heavy on joy, laughter and free gelato – name a better trio. There’s live comedy and theatre, creative kids’ events and some newly opened art exhibitions to keep you entertained this weekend and in the week ahead.

1) Diagnosis: Funny

James Keating’s Autistic Flair has sold out multiple times this year.

Comedian James Keating has sold out his show Autistic Flair multiple times this year and returns tonight for a back-by-popular-demand performance at The Classic Studio. Diagnosed with autism in recent years, Keating leans into his natural awkwardness with great comedic effect. Tonight, Keating’s opening act is 2024 Raw Comedy Quest winner Jasper Poole, who shares Keating’s diagnosis and calls it his superpower.

When: Tonight, 8.30pm

Where: The Classic Studio, Queen St, Auckland

Price: Tickets $20 + booking fees, from comedy.co.nz

2) Joyful noise

You might want to pack some earplugs for this one: The Joyful Junk Orchestra. The Creative Kids Collective is hosting an event at Fowlds Park tomorrow where children are invited to come along, get creative and get loud. The idea is to create your own instruments from everyday objects – yes, that includes pots and pans – and then join in a group jam or simply march to the beat of your own drum. It’s set to be a joyfully noisy experience for young and old.

When: Tomorrow, 10am-1pm

Where: Fowlds Park, Mt Albert

Price: Free

3) All aboard the Western Springs Tramway

Motat’s Tram 100 is one of only two operational steam-powered trams in the world.

Tomorrow is a Live Day at Motat, with one of its most popular themes: trams. The museum really gets rolling on Live Days, with the Lollyman, backyard games, the print shop, schoolhouse lessons, live music and activities. Tomorrow, Motat’s restored heritage trams will be operating on the Western Springs Tramway, including former Wellington double-decker Big Ben, Tram 47 and the museum’s pride and joy, Tram 100, one of two operational steam-powered trams in the world. Steam trains will be running between Sir Keith Park and Waitītiko Station as well. It’s a world of wonder for transport and history enthusiasts of all ages.

When: Tomorrow, 10am-4pm

Where: Motat, Great North Rd and Motions Rd, Western Springs, Auckland

Price: Usual Motat admission fees apply

4) Portraits of a Main Character

Natasha Wright mixes paint with sediment from past works to create unique textures. Photo / Andrea Bednarek

If you’re heading to Newmarket, stop in at Sanderson Gallery where a new exhibition by painter Natasha Wright opened this week. Titled Main Character, the exhibition includes eight large canvases featuring the female form – a protagonist in her own story or myth. Wright incorporated sediment from her used brushes and paint cans into her paint to give literal and figurative texture to the paintings: each painted woman contains “the memory of all the other painted women who have come before”. The works are bold and emotive, and well worth seeing in person.

When: Open until November 9

Where: Sanderson Gallery, Osborn Lane, 2-4 Kent St, Newmarket, Auckland

Price: Free entry (unless purchasing prints)

5) Art gazing and poi-making

Art, culture and poi. Experience a creative weekend at Corban Estate Arts Centre. Photo / Courtesy of Vince Heperi

Take a trip out west this weekend to the Corban Estate Arts Centre where last night two new exhibitions opened. Past Visions by Tony Brown explores the concept of “the Māori within coming out” through photorealistic paintings and his multi-disciplinary art practice. The second exhibition, Te-Kahu-O-Rangi, is curated by Cora-Allan Twiss and features kākāhu (garments) from award-winning Kapa Haka Roopu Te Taha Tū. Today, members of Te Taha Tū will be on site to teach poi-making from 11am-1pm, with visitors able to see the intricate garments the Māori performing arts group have worn on stage before making something to take home under the guidance of those same performers.

When: Until November 29

Where: Homestead Galleries, Corban Estate Arts Centre, 2 Mt Lebanon Lane, Henderson

Price: Bookings required for poi workshop at ceac.org.nz

6) We all scream free ice cream

Little ’Lato’s pink wafer gelato won the 2025 Open Creative Champion award.

Hopefully you’re reading this in time to hop on your bike and head down to Little ’Lato in Ponsonby or Hamilton, where free scoops of its award-winning pink wafer gelato are up for grabs. It’s a collaboration with American Express for its Amex Shop Small campaign, the purpose of which is to encourage people to support local small businesses, something we can all get behind. It’s the first time this flavour, which won the Open Creative Champion at the 2025 NZ Ice Cream and Gelato Awards, is being served to the public and it’s on a first-in, first-served basis, with the Ponsonby branch giving away 300 free scoops and Hamilton 200. So get down there lickety split.

When: Today from 11am

Where: Little ’Lato Ponsonby, 119 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby, and Little ’Lato Hamilton, 401 Grey St, Hamilton East

7) Classical concert at St-Matthew-in-the-City

St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra has been performing in Auckland for more than 50 years. Photo / 123rf

Auckland’s longest standing orchestra – St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra – is performing its final concert of the year tomorrow afternoon, featuring music by Vaughan Williams, a commissioned work by Webster and Brahms’ Symphony No 1. The concert, titled First Monument, is conducted by Michael Joel, with Gillian Ansell playing the viola solo. Technically an amateur orchestra, SMCO rehearses and performs like a professional one, and its members include some of Auckland’s best classical musicians.

When: Tomorrow, 2.30pm

Where: St-Matthew-in-the-City, 132 Hobson St, Auckland Central

Price: $30–$35 + booking fees, children under 12 free with a paying adult, from eventfinda.co.nz

Plan ahead: Dinner with a side of chaos

Faulty Towers The Dining Experience is officially endorsed by the BBC. Photo / Jane Hobson

The popular Faulty Towers The Dining Experience concludes its nationwide tour at the Auckland Irish Club next week. You’ll have to move fast to get tickets because several nights have already sold out. The West End show was a hit when it toured here last year. It features a hilarious cast, largely improvising throughout the night, in the roles of beloved Fawlty Towers characters. You’ll get a three-course dinner, hopefully; entertainment, most definitely; and a great story to tell of your evening of chaos and hilarity

When: October 21-26

Where: Auckland Irish Club, Rocky Nook Ave, Mt Albert

Price: $113 + booking fees, from eventfinda.co.nz

Plan ahead: A treasure chest of comedy

Captain Morrow’s creators won the Bobby Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Photo / Andi Crown

Making its Aotearoa debut, Captain Morrow and the Sands of Time opens at Q Theatre on Tuesday. Starring Ella Hope-Higginson and Callum Brodie as an entire pirate crew of more than 40 characters, this wacky 60-minute show is guaranteed to give you some hearty laughs. Directed by Barnie Duncan, the two actors are joined on stage by musician Ali Sewell as they race against the British Navy to find the treasured Sands of Time. The show received the Bobby Award for writing at Edinburgh Fringe and a spate of glowing reviews. It’s short and sweet and a comedy treat.

When: October 21-November 8

Where: Q Theatre, 305 Queen St, Auckland Central

Price: Tickets $32.50-$42.50 + booking fees, from qtheatre.co.nz

Coming up

NZSO’s Affirmation: Dvořák & Brahms: October 23, Wellington. October 24, Auckland.

Titirangi Festival of Music: October 25-26, Titirangi, Auckland.

British and Irish Film Festival: October 29-November 19, nationwide.

Bill Bailey – Vaudevillean: nationwide tour from October 29-November 23.

Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo: October 30-November 9, Spark Arena, Auckland.

Dungeon of the Damned: October 31-November 2, Birkenhead, Auckland.

Auckland Festival of Quilts: October 31-November 2, Auckland Netball Centre.

The Trusts Halloween Spooktacular: November 1, New Lynn, Auckland.

Analogue Aotearoa: November 1-2, Te Aroha.

Tofiga Fepulea’i, Shuuush Your Mouf: November 1-8, Hamilton, Auckland, Tauranga.

A Journey to See Exhibition: November 1-21, Lake House Arts, Takapuna.

The Dry House: November 4-15, Basement Theatre, Auckland.

Harry Enfield And No Chums: November 13 and 21, Auckland.

Kowhai Art & Craft Club Sale and Exhibition: November 7-9, Matakana Hall.

NZ Sculpture OnShore: November 7-23, Devonport, Auckland.

Parnell Festival of Roses: November 9, Parnell, Auckland.

All Together Now Choir, Mixtape for the Mission: November 9, Auckland Town Hall.

Auckland Rose Society Annual Show: November 15-16, Parnell, Auckland.

An Evening with Priscilla Presley, Life after Elvis: November 20, Bruce Mason Centre, Auckland.

Eddie Izzard – The Remix Tour Live: November 21-26, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland.

H.R. The Musical #2: November 25-December 6, Q Theatre, Auckland.

92nd Farmers Santa Parade: November 30, Auckland.

Kirk Franklin, The World Tour: December 10-13, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland.

Dynamotion & Q Theatre present A Christmas Crisis: December 10-20, Q Theatre, Auckland.

Oprah In Conversation: December 14, Spark Arena, Auckland.

The ASB Classic: January 5-17, Auckland.

Jimmy Carr – Laughs Funny Tour: Nationwide January 7-28, 2026.

Auckland Folk Festival: January 23-26, Auckland.

Email canvas@nzherald.co.nz with brief details of your upcoming event, including dates/times, location and website.