Warm up your weekend by tagging along to these midwinter events

Start your week off on the right note with Auckland Live’s Morning Melodies in Takapuna.
A weekend guide to the best midwinter events and all the things to do in the city, from theatre shows to a documentary festival, Zoo happenings, Karangahape Rd’s restaurant month and more.
Congratulations to anyone who is arriving at this midwinter/mid-school holiday weekend and isn’t crippled by cold and flu season, but instead is well enough to venture out and enjoy Tāmaki Makaurau. We’ve curated a selection of the best events happening this weekend and into next week, plus a lovely little winter festival to travel north for at the end of the month.
Start your week off on a musical note with Auckland Live’s Morning Melodies. The monthly Monday-morning concert at Bruce Mason Centre is on next Monday, with this month’s performers coming from the National Youth Theatre. Cast members range in age from 7 to 21 and they’ll be singing some of their favourite musical theatre bops. Morning Melodies has been entertaining Aucklanders for 23 years, and that is a pretty spectacular achievement. Each concert includes a cup of tea, a biscuit and the chance to catch up with friends and other music appreciators beforehand. It’s a lovely way to kick off the second week of the school holiday, especially if a week at home with your kids has you begging for a reminder that kids can be quite lovely sometimes, particularly when they’re singing and dancing. If you can make time to attend future concerts, upcoming performers include Society Jazzmen, The Madeleines, Base Auckland Brass, Band of the Royal Regiment of NZ Artillery, and Royal New Zealand Navy Band.
When: July 15, 11am.
Where: Bruce Mason Centre, The Promenade, Takapuna.
Price: Tickets $7 + booking fees from aucklandlive.co.nz
Whether week one of the school holiday has drained you of your will to parent or you’re rearing to go for another week of quality time with your young folk, Five Go on an Adventure should be on your radar. The Tim Bray Theatre Company production of the Enid Blyton classic book series is rolling into its second week of public performances at the Pumphouse, and is a great way to introduce children to theatre. The show follows the four children and their dog, Timmy, as they set out on an adventure and find themselves solving a mystery. It’s a concise 50 minutes, fun, a little bit silly and super-entertaining for primary-school-age children and younger. Take a picnic to enjoy by the lake and you’ve got yourselves a delightful family outing.
When: Daily (not Sunday) until July 20, 10.30am and 1pm.
Where: Pumphouse Theatre, 2a Manurere Ave, Takapuna.
Price: Tickets start at $28 + booking fees from timbray.org.nz
If you haven’t heard about the theatrical sensation that is Prima Facie you must have been living under a rock for the past year — that or theatre just isn’t in your algorithms. The one-woman play by Suzie Miller premiered to much fanfare in Australia in 2019, but really hit the big time when Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer played the role of lawyer Tessa Ensler on the West End in 2022 — the production went on to be nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards. It’s a gripping story of a criminal defence lawyer whose world is turned upside down when she experiences first hand the kind of crime she regularly defends, sexual assault. Directed by Michael Hurst and performed by Cassandra Woodhouse, NZ Theatre Company is wrapping up its Auckland performances this weekend at Lopdell House before setting off on a North Island tour. This may be your last chance to see this affecting show in Tāmaki Makaurau for a while, so don’t miss out.
When: July 11-14.
Where: Lopdell House, 418 Titirangi Rd, Titirangi, Auckland.
Price: Tickets start at $30 from lopdellprecinct.org.nz Touring Tauranga, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Gisborne, Whangamatā, Waihī, Kerikeri and Whangārei. Go to nztheatrecompany.com for dates and tickets.
Here’s something a little racy to keep things hot while the weather turns cold. July is Karangahape Rd’s restaurant month — an event they call Eat It, which reflects the area’s historical status as Auckland’s red-light district. Throughout the month of July there are food-and-drink-driven events that are a little kinky or give a wee wink to something sexual — think ceviche at Madame George, a pink pussycat cocktail at Carmen Jones, a stuffed squid aphrodisiac at Bar Magda, or Bang Bang chicken at Satya. This weekend’s offerings are a four-cheese lasagne called The Morning After at Fort Greene, and Forbidden Flavours Snapper at Java. The best part is, after your sexy nibble or tipple, you can send a pic of your receipt to [email protected] or to @kroadnz on Instagram and be in to win a $200 voucher, with one being given away every day in July. If you manage to get to two or more Eat It events this month, you’ll go in the draw to win $1000 in vouchers so you can indulge in many a titillating evening in the precinct.
When: Throughout July.
Where: Karangahape Rd, Auckland Central.
Price: Go to karangahaperoad.com/eat-it for the full schedule of events.
Anyone who’s watched a home makeover show knows that a good piece of art can immediately transform your place from a hovel to a halcyon home. This weekend, you could find the perfect piece to do that for your four walls at the Auckland Art Show at Viaduct Events Centre. There are thousands of pieces of artwork on display, spanning an extremely wide price range. The event is organised by Art Shows Across Aotearoa, which also hosts shows in Queenstown, Christchurch and Wellington, and curates a broad selection of New Zealand art from sculpture and painting to textile art and ceramics. There’s an on-site cafe and live painting demos, so even if you’re not in the market to take home a new piece this weekend, it’s a great place to spend a few hours appreciating the talents of our local artists.
When: July 13, 10am-8pm, and July 14, 10am-5pm.
Where: Viaduct Events Centre, 171 Halsey St, Auckland Central.
Price: Tickets on the door $12 general, $10 Gold Card and student ID holders, or $9 online at aucklandartshow.co.nz. Children 16 years and under are free.
On the second Sunday of every month, the always-bustling Smales Farm hosts a charming wee market, courtesy of The Market Collaborative. There’s a wide range of unique local vendors selling everything from fashion and jewellery to houseplants and produce. Bundle up the kids, grab a hot coffee on a cold morning and meander through the market where there’ll be live music, lots of lovely wares and a wonderful community vibe.
When: July 14, 9am to 2pm.
Where: Smales Farm, Taharoto Rd, Takapuna.
Price: Free.
If you haven’t checked Auckland Zoo off your school holiday to-do list, do it now while tiger cub Cahya is still cute and cuddly looking — looking being the operative word; tiger cuddling is not advised or allowed. They are carnivores after all, which is the theme for the holiday. Visitors can pick up an activity sheet to take with them on their exploration of the zoo while they learn all about the habits of meat eaters and/or drop into the Domes for blocks, puzzles, reading and colouring. If you’re taking preschoolers, Wednesday and Thursday are your best bet because there’s Tamariki Time with singing, games and activities at 10am and 10.30am at the Band Rotunda, Kidzone or The Domes. Older kids might want to test their photography skills on the resident animals and if they snap a goodie, upload it to Facebook or Instagram with the hashtags #ZooSnaps and #AucklandZoo. Each month a winner is drawn and they’ll get a family pass to the zoo and a gift from the zoo shop. At the end of the year, the 12 monthly winners go to a public vote, the winner of which gets a photography prize pack that includes a Nikon mirrorless camera.
When: Open daily, 9.30am-4.30pm (carnivore activity sheets until July 21).
Where: Auckland Zoo, Motions Rd, Western Springs.
Price: Go to aucklandzoo.co.nz for tickets.
This weekend is the final weekend of the Doc Edge Film Festival and if you haven’t seen any of the fascinating, moving, disturbing, informative and, above all, entertaining true stories on offer yet, then rattle your dags, good people. A cosy and nostalgia-filled cinema like The Capitol is the perfect place to spend a chilly mid-July weekend and there are no fewer than 12 documentaries playing over the next two days. Some of the highlights include Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other, a poignant portrait of late married life; Ice Maiden, the story of Australian adventurer Lisa Blair’s solo sailing journey around Antarctica; and Poised, an inspirational film about one man’s attempts to save the youth of northeast England through mixed martial arts. We strongly suggest you enjoy one of these films in the theatre with other sentient beings, but if the pull of your couch is simply too strong, then you’ll be pleased to learn that Doc Edge’s virtual festival starts nationwide on Monday.
When: July 13-14.
Where: The Capitol Cinema, Dominion Rd, Balmoral, Auckland.
Price: Tickets $25 general, $21 concession and $17.50 for Doc Edge members from docedge.nz. The Virtual Cinema: July 15-31 at docedge.nz
Times are tough and most of us probably won’t be hopping on to a plane for a tropical-island getaway this winter, but you could jump in a car and head north for the next best thing, the Brew of Islands festival. Taking place in Kerikeri on July 26-27, this is the second year for the food and beer festival that will feature nine New Zealand breweries, street-food-style cuisine from a range of local artisans, and live entertainment from the likes of Lost Tribe Aotearoa, Sweet Az and the eccentric Conrad Coom, a fan favourite from last year. For anyone who fancies themselves a bit of a home brewer, you’ve got until Friday to get your entry into the home brew competition. There are three four-hour sessions across the two days and plenty of other fun to be had in the region, so pack a puffer and your sunnies and you can almost pretend it’s summer up there.
When: July 26-27.
Where: The Turner Centre, 43 Cobham Rd, Kerikeri.
Price: Tickets start at $40 + booking fees from brewofislands.co.nz