Compiled by ALAN PERROTT
On The Move
Transit New Zealand reports clear roads apart from the night-time roadworks at the Greenlane roundabout. All ramps will be closed on Sunday and Monday nights from 9.30 pm to 5 am. If rain prevents work, it will resume on the next fine night.
Weather
No
prizes for guessing it will be cloudy, hot and humid all day and all night. Possible drizzle tomorrow and Sunday. Grass pollen counts are low, but the hayfever nasties are still flowering and damp weather is encouraging fungal spores which trigger some allergies.
Favourite freebie
The big one is tomorrow's Pasifika Festival at Western Springs (right). Grab a pineapple pie and some palasami, slip into Pacific time and cruise from island to island with about 100,000 others. Free parking at Unitec on Carrington Rd, Mt Albert, and free shuttle buses from 9 am to 6 pm.
Today
* The big cruise liners are back in Auckland. The Silver Cloud docks at 8 am, as does the Maxim Gorkiy.
* The Blues and defending Super 12 champs Crusaders battle to avoid an early two-from-two losing record at Eden Park (Sky Sport, 7.30 pm).
* After a battling draw in Adelaide last week, the Football Kingz face another quality side in perennial NSL title contender Perth Glory at Christchurch's Jade Stadium (Prime TV, 7.30 pm).
* It's the National Heart Foundation's annual Red Heart Day appeal and Aucklanders are urged to pull on their brightest red clothes.
* The Government is hosting a public hui on the review of the Public Works Act at 10 am, Te Kupenga O Te Matauranga Marae, Palmerston North.
* The annual North Shore three-day Home and Garden Show is on at the North Shore Events Centre until Sunday. Opening hours are 10 am to 6pm today and 10 am to 5 pm tomorrow and Sunday. Entry is free.
* GlaxoSmithKline is recalling its Orange Lucozade 4-packs because of possible yeast contamination. Refunds on all returned products. For further information call 0800 300-690.
* Starspotters and autograph hunters should be in luck tonight. The celebrities will be on parade for the New Zealand Music Awards, to be held in the Civic from 7.30 pm.
* The Muscular Dystrophy Association hosts a celebrity game of wheelchair rugby in Aotea Square from noon.
* The night-time drag wars are on at the Champion Raceway, off State Highway 1 in Meremere, from 4.30 pm to 10.30 pm.
* The postal ballot for the vacant Waitakere City councillor position in the Waitakere ward will continue until noon on March 17. Voting papers must be returned by post or delivered to the Returning Officer, City of Waitakere, c/o Waitakere City Council, 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson.
* Also today: The good news this day in 1789 was that the Pennsylvania General Assembly lifted a ban on theatrical performances by a narrow vote. Horrified anti-thespians struck a pose and declared theatre produced "idleness, dissipation, and a general depravity of principles and manners."
Tomorrow
* The State Highway 16 off-ramp, southbound, at Western Springs will be closed between 8 am and 5 pm to assist traffic management during the Pasifika Festival.
* The Martinborough County Fair, the largest of its type in the Southern Hemisphere, is on in the town square from 10 am to 4 pm. Meanwhile, the Golden Shears continues down the road in Masterton, starting at 7.45 am.
* Spin a yarn or two at the two-day Storytellers' Festival at the Motu Moana Activity Centre, Connaught St, Green Bay. The festival is open from 10 am to 10 pm tomorrow and from 7.30 am to 4 pm on Sunday.
* The two-day St Heliers Food, Fashion and Wine Festival gets under way at Vellenoweth Green, Tamaki Drive. The festival will be open from 10 am to 8 pm tomorrow and from 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday. Parking is limited: catch a bus.
* The Grey Lynn Community Centre, a facility of the Auckland City Council, celebrates the launch of its new website with a market day, barbecue and picnic at 510 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn, from 8 am to 1 pm. The website's address is a little unusual - http://come.to/greylynn - but it works!
* The Manukau City Symphony Orchestra with conductor Rita Paczian is appearing at the Papatoetoe Town Hall at 3.30 pm.
* In Super 12 action on Sky Sport, the Hurricanes host the Bulls in the Cake Tin (5.35 pm) and the Chiefs host the Reds in Rotorua (7.35 pm).
* If you can't sleep, don't waste those sleepless hours! The Manukau Harbour Charity Fishing Contest starts at midnight and the final weigh-in is at 5 am, leaving plenty of time for tall tales over breakfast.
Sunday
* The HazMobile, the Auckland Regional Council's household hazardous waste collector, will be parked in the Glen Innes Shopping Centre carpark, Apirana Ave. A good chance to get rid of dangerous refuse.
* Ardmore Aerodrome has an open day from 8 am to 5 pm with aerobatics by vintage aircraft and jets. Entry is $10, under-16s free.
* The New Zealand Warriors take on the Wests Tigers in Campbelltown Stadium. TV coverage on Sky 2 at 5.45 pm.
* Pacific Jazz is on at the Nathan Homestead Theatre in Manurewa from 2 pm to 4 pm, and the Manukau City Symphony will be at All Saints Church, Howick, from 2.30 pm.
* Give Rover a scrub and head to the Hobsonville Air Base for the Scruffs Dog Show. It starts at 10 am.
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<i>Need to know:</i> Weekend planner
Compiled by ALAN PERROTT
On The Move
Transit New Zealand reports clear roads apart from the night-time roadworks at the Greenlane roundabout. All ramps will be closed on Sunday and Monday nights from 9.30 pm to 5 am. If rain prevents work, it will resume on the next fine night.
Weather
No
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