This year marks Santa's 90th appearance at the Farmers Santa Parade in Auckland. Photo / Supplied
From the Farmers Santa Parade to outdoor yoga to a Japanese film festival, here’s your guide to what to do this weekend in Auckland, and what to plan ahead for.
The big guy is making his 90th appearance in the Farmers Santa Parade on Sunday and little believers from all over Tāmaki Makaurau are going to want to be there to see him in the flesh. As always, he won’t be alone – there are over 4000 performers and volunteers involved in the parade, which is the unofficial ribbon cutting of the Christmas season. To make your day run smoothly, make a plan for travel, sun protection, snacks and toilet stops for young bladders. After the parade, the party continues in Aotea Square with oodles more entertainment into the late afternoon.
Sunday, November 26, 12pm-1pm (pre-parade entertainment), 1pm-2.30pm (parade), 2.30pm-5pm (Santa’s Party). Queen St, Auckland CBD. FREE (free parking at AT’s Downtown and Victoria Street car parks if you arrive before 11am and leave between 2pm-6pm).
Make the most of the warmer months by taking your yoga practice out of a stuffy studio or gym and into Ōrākei Domain where SHIFT Power Yoga will be holding twice-weekly sessions. Get a double dose of wellness with the benefits of yoga being coupled with the healing powers of nature. It’s a strong practice – you won’t be rolling around in the grass doing some half-hearted stretches, you’ll be moving through a sequence of dynamic poses that will have your body in movement but should bring your monkey mind some stillness. The 45-minute sessions are on Saturdays and Wednesdays throughout the summer.
Saturday, November 25, 10am; Wednesday, November 29, 5pm (and ongoing Wednesdays and Saturdays in summer). Ōrākei Domain, Tamaki Drive, Ōrākei, Auckland. Classes $15 + booking fees from shiftpoweryoga.co.nz
Close out your weekend with three of Aotearoa’s finest classical musicians – Somi Kim (piano), Ashley Brown (cello) and Amalia Hall (violin), collectively known as the NZTrio – on Sunday. This year the trio has performed a three-part series of concerts, under the title Homeland, that have focused on the theme of home. Sunday’s concert is the final performance of Homeland 3: Dumky. The programme features works by Vitezslav Novak, Ernest Bloch and Frank Martin, a new work by NZ composer Ross Harris and, of course, Dvorak’s famous “Dumky” Trio. A perfect evening of classical music for both seasoned enthusiasts and the classical-curious.
Sunday, November 26, 7pm. Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall, Queen St, Auckland CBD. Tickets students $27.50 + booking fees; adults $55 + booking fees from ticketmaster.co.nz
Market masters the General Collective are holding a Christmas market at Ponsonby Central on Sunday. Unlike their major event at the Auckland Showgrounds, this market is a little bit more boutique, held upstairs in The Sapphire Room. There will be a carefully curated selection of New Zealand-designed homewares, fashion, toys, jewellery, skincare and other treasures. Tick some people off your Christmas shopping list with the knowledge you’ve got something unique and you’re supporting small local businesses this festive season.
Sunday, November 26, 10am-2pm. The Sapphire Room (upstairs from The Lane in Ponsonby Central), 136/146 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby, Auckland. FREE entry.
You can always count on the Academy Cinemas to host a niche film festival that you probably never knew existed but could be the highlight of your movie-going year. This week it’s the Japanese Film Festival organised by the Consulate-General of Japan and the Japan Foundation. Anime fans are spoiled for choice on Saturday with last year’s anime release Blue Thermal and a live-action drama that goes behind the scenes of the anime-making world, Anime Supremacy! Sunday’s films include Blue, a drama set in the world of boxing, and teen coming-of-age drama It’s a Summer Film! The screenings are all free, so book immediately or you may miss out.
November 23-26. Academy Cinemas, Lorne St, Auckland CBD. Tickets from academycinemas.co.nz. FREE.
The annual Portage Ceramic Awards Exhibition is now on at Te Uru in Titirangi. Each year the finalists, from all over the country, have their works publicly displayed. It’s a collection of stunning ceramic works ranging from functional pieces to abstract sculptures. The 238 entries have been whittled down to 46 finalists, which were judged by Waitakere-based ceramic artist John Parker. If you can’t head out this weekend, you’ve got the summer to check it out or stop in next Saturday, December 2, at 11am for the judge’s floor talk.
On now until March 3. Te Uru, 420 Titirangi Road, Titirangi, Tāmaki Makaurau. FREE.
Forget that tapa cloth tote bag you made in form 2 sewing class, this is not that. The Pacific Fusion Fashion Show is an exciting high-fashion event celebrating the works of 21 emerging and established designers, each bringing a unique Pacific-inspired style to their garments. Styled by the iconic Sammy Salsa, the runway collection features pieces from a range of different Pacific cultures, drawing on both cultural traditions and cutting-edge contemporary design. Now in its seventh year, next Friday’s event, Descend, is the biggest PFFS yet. With 60 models and more than 170 in the production team, it’s set to be a wonderfully vibrant celebration of Pacific-inspired fashion.
December 1, 7.30-10.30pm. NZ Warbirds Association, 824 Harvard Lane, Ardmore. Tickets $50-$200 + booking fee from eventfinda.co.nz
The Frame Workshop, a small but mighty art gallery in Herne Bay, opens its last exhibition for 2023 on Thursday evening. In Colour is a group show featuring works from nine artists, each of which is exploring the use of colour in their work. The artists – Alexandra Weston, Charlotte Robertson, Jane Denton, Karin Barr, Nathan Ingram, Sam Mathers, Amanda Billing, Charlotte Suggate and Kate Mitchell – use a range of mediums including painting, perspex, metal, textile and glass to play with colour. It’s a bright and uplifting show, a fitting end to an excellent year of exhibitions for the Frame Workshop & Gallery.
Opening November 30, 5pm-7pm; show runs December 1-16. The Frame Workshop & Gallery, 182 Jervois Rd, Herne Bay, Auckland.
If you move through Britomart on your daily commute, give yourself some extra time next week to stop and experience The Art of Black Grace. On Monday, the second in a series of “architectural, digital and immersive dance experiences” by Black Grace founder Neil Ieremia ONZM opens at the Atrium on Takutai, Britomart. The Art of Black Grace has to be experienced to be understood. Based on a series of paintings by Ieremia, the installation uses immersive technologies to bring audiences inside a world of dance, art and music. It’s only on for a week so if Britomart isn’t part of your daily experience, figure out a way to make it there next week or you’ll miss out on something quite special.
November 27 - December 3. Atrium on Takutai, Britomart, Auckland CBD. FREE.
Give your whole family a little reprieve from Jingle Bells and Mariah Carey next month and book tickets to see National Youth Theatre’s production of High School Musical at Aotea Centre. It’s based on the Disney movie that gave the world Zac Efron, spawned two sequels and the recent hit television show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series starring pop star Olivia Rodrigo. NYT’s production features a cast of more than two hundred 7-21 year olds passionately singing and dancing to songs about high school drama, young love, basketball and not being afraid to be yourself. There’s nothing more charming than seeing these super sparkly kids giving their all on the big stage. It’s impossible not to get swept up in their spirit - school spirit that is: Go Wildcats!
December 9, 1.30pm and 7pm. December 10, 11.30am and 4pm. Kiri te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre, Mayoral Dr, Auckland CBD. Tickets start at $29.95 + booking fee from ticketmaster.co.nz
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