Celebrate this Father’s Day with art, science, theatre and nature

See The National Youth Theatre perform a junior verson of The Lion King. Photo / National Youth Theatre
From art to science to theatre to nature, this weekend and the week ahead in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland is loaded with entertainment for young, old and everyone in between.
Check out our carefully curated list below of things to do over the next couple of days. If you’re celebrating a dad this Sunday, of course you could take them to any one of these events or head over to our Father’s Day round up.
The ancient art of quilting is alive and well in Tāmaki Makaurau and this weekend there’s a wonderful display of local creations being exhibited at Alberton. The quilts are made by the nimble-fingered members of the Monday Modern Quilt Group. The Sandringham-based group has exhibited once before at the historic house, where they laid the quilts out throughout the house in creative ways. This time there will be more than 70 of their artistic and modern quilts on display in various rooms in Alberton. Entry to the exhibit lets you wander through the historic house as well. The quilts don’t exactly look at home among the Victorian furniture, instead their presence creates a thoughtful juxtaposition of old and new – an old tradition as practised in the 21st century.
When: August 30 – September 1, 10.30am-4pm.
Where: Alberton, 100 Mt Albert Rd, Mt Albert
Price: $10pp, under-18s free.
Whether you’re a fan of the Elton John classic or Beyonce’s style is more your jam, The Lion King is undeniably a cracking good movie-come-Broadway-musical. This weekend the National Youth Theatre is staging the junior version, which means – at 60 minutes – it’s shorter than the full-length musical, perfect for young audiences. It features a cast of more than 50 young performers from Manukau who’ve been working hard for the past eight weeks to pull together a slick production with so much heart and soul you’d be forgiven for welling up during Hakuna Matata and flat-out balling during Can You Feel the Love Tonight. There’s one performance on Saturday and two on Sunday so get tickets and support these talented young people discovering the joy of musical theatre.
When: August 31, 7pm and September 1, 1.30pm and 4pm.
Where: Due Drop Events Centre, 770 Great South Rd, Manukau City
Price: Tickets start at $15 + booking fees from eventfinda.co.nz
Spend Sunday, or any time over the coming week, perusing the delightful array of paintings by The Howick Art Group at their Spring Exhibition. The group, which has been running since 1965, is showcasing a wide range of painted artworks from more than 65 members, all of which are in competition. For the first time, this year’s exhibition includes a student showcase from two local intermediate schools that have worked with the theme “The Eastern Shoreline”.
There are artist demonstrations daily and you’re invited to put in your two cents by placing a vote for the People’s Choice Award. If the weather permits, take a walk along Bucklands Beach and stop at one of the many local cafes – and you’ve got a practically perfect art-inspired outing.
When: September 1 – 8, 9.30am-4pm.
Where: Bucklands and Eastern Beaches Memorial Hall, 48 The Parade, Bucklands Beach, Auckland. howickartgroup.org.nz
Price: Free.
Spring has sprung at Eden Garden and it’s brimming with brightly coloured tulips and promises of warmer days. This weekend, the garden at the foot of Maungawhau is hosting its annual Tulip Festival where, along with taking in nature’s splendour, you can enjoy live music, market stalls, face painting, kids activities, a coffee cart, gourmet barbecue, food trucks and maybe win a raffle or prize. It’s on both Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine – though we sure hope it shines so you can enjoy the more than 15,000 flowering bulbs in all their glory. Parking is at a premium so walk, take public transport or carpool if you can. It’s always a popular event, for good reason, so you should buy tickets in advance if you want guaranteed entry.
When: August 31 – September 1, 9am-3.30pm.
Where: Eden Garden, 24 Omana Ave, Epsom.
Price: Tickets $14 adults, $10 students/NZ seniors, gold coin donation for members and free for under 12s from eventfinda.co.nz
Joy Cowley’s classic series about mud-loving farm animals and their exasperated owner, Mrs Wishy-Washy, is the next school holiday production from the talented bunch at Tim Bray Theatre Company. To warm-up little readers and theatre-lovers they’re holding some live readings of the books at local libraries and venues over the next few weekends. This Saturday they’re at Mt Albert and Epsom Libraries, with Lake House Arts Centre, Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop, Remuera Library and St Heliers Library on upcoming Saturdays. The live stage show of Mrs Wishy-Washy always has the kids in stitches so once you’ve been to a reading, buy your whānau tickets for the September holidays. Tim Bray Theatre Company is running a little promotion too: if you buy tickets before September 13, you go in the draw to win a backstage tour of Mrs Wishy-Washy hosted by Tim himself, a photo with the cast and a family pass to the festive end-of-year production, The Santa Claus Show ‘24.
August 31:
September 7:
September 14:
September 21:
Onomatopoeic words like squish, bang and splat are a parent’s worst nightmare if uttered anywhere near clean upholstery or carpets, but they’re music to your ears when providing hours of entertainment in a controlled environment several kilometres from your own property. This weekend, Motat is hosting two full days of messy science where kids and their adults can participate in bottle rocket launchers, water balloons, playdough, a slime zone and make a wax mould of their hand. Nanogirl Labs will be performing some live science shows, the Science Alive Te Manawa Magic Box will be hosting live demonstrations of experiments your kids can try at home – or not if you’re at Motat to avoid chaos and destruction in your own home – and the Tamashii Taiko Drummers will be performing as well. Plus, there’ll be food trucks on site to keep little and big puku full throughout your visit.
When: August 31 and September 1, 10am-4pm.
Where: Motat, 805 Great North Rd, Western Springs
Price: Usual Motat entry fees apply.
The future of New Zealand film-making is – at least in part – in the hands of these eager and creative rangatahi, the participants in Day One Hāpai te Haeata. It’s a short film initiative, funded by NZ On Air and Te Māngai Pāho, that provides aspiring young film-makers with support and guidance as they bring their ideas to life. Each film-making team is mentored by an established creative in the industry, helping to ensure the vision in their minds makes it to the screen as they planned. On Tuesday, you can head along to the premiere of these eight powerful local stories being held at Hollywood Avondale. Check out the trailers at dofilm.co.nz, we think they’ll have you hooked. If you can’t make it to the premiere to see the films on the big screen and rub shoulders with these talented young people, the series will be released on the Day One website on Wednesday, September 4.
When: September 3, doors open 5.30pm, 6.15pm karakia, 6.30pm film screening.
Where: The Hollywood Avondale, 20 St Georges Rd, Avondale
Price: Tickets $20 or $40 with Day One beanie or cap from events.humanitix.com
The Auckland Fringe Festival’s plethora of edgy entertainment kicks off on Sunday and one of the 56 acts we’ve got our sights set on is Delightfool, a campy cabaret show by the genderfluid, queer comedians Booth the Clown and Jak Darling. Hailing from Pōneke, this duo brings a performance that is both a celebration of friendship and a bold statement on self-acceptance. The two artists’ many skills including music, magic, stand-up, mime, poetry and theatre are on display in Delightfool, which promises to be full of belly laughs with some heartfelt moments hiding among the silliness as well. The pair recently won the Auckland Tour Ready Award at the Wellington Fringe Festival and now they’re here, they’re queer, and they’re hoping to take their show everywhere.
When: September 3-7, 8.30pm.
Where: Basement Theatre, The Studio, Lower Greys Avenue
Price: Tickets $18-$28 + booking fees from iticket.co.nz
If you’re missing the display of sporting prowess that is the Olympics, head along to next week’s Secondary School Sport Auckland Tournament and you might just spot some LA 2028 potential. It’s a week-long tournament, supported by Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and New Zealand Sports Collective, in which teams from high schools all over the country will compete in 11 disciplines, and they’re not all sports that you’d expect. There’s basketball, netball, cycling, wrestling, croquet, football, skateboarding, indoor bowls, weightlifting, hockey and a road race. The events are open to the public, they’re free and unticketed so you can just roll in and see the next generation of talented Kiwi sports people doing their thing.
When: September 2-8.
Where: Various locations in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Price: Visit nzsportcollective.co.nz/aucklandschoolsportweek for the full schedule and location information.