The festival includes a music programme for schools and hip-hop workshops.
Headline acts include Australia's Casus Circus Company, swing band Sal Valentine and the Babyshakes, a performance based around the lives of Tim Finn's immigrant ancestors, and a show called The Pianist in which a high-brow concert descends into a "spectacularly amusing catastrophe".
Go to www.upsurgefestival.co.nz for the full programme and ticket information.
Help for Pam's victims
Visitors to Kerikeri's Old Packhouse Market on Saturday donated $643.20 to aid Vanuatu's Cyclone Pam recovery effort.
The collection was organised by the Kerikeri Rotary Club, which will pass the cash to Rotary clubs in Vanuatu for use as they see fit.
Club president Bruce Mathieson said that ensured there would be no delay and the money would be used by locals for locals. With no fees or deductions every cent donated would reach the island nation.
The North's toughest race
Northland's toughest race is set to return on April 18. The Cape Brett Challenge sees competitors run a marathon-distance trail to Cape Brett lighthouse and back over gruelling terrain and a gut-busting 2250m of ascent.
The less masochistic can opt for the 17km Whangamumu Loop run/walk from from Rawhiti to Whangamumu Harbour, via the ruins of an historic whaling station, or the "short but sharp" 13km Kauri Ridge run/walk.
Organisers warn that anyone planning to take on the 40km course must be fit and capable of finishing within nine hours. The full-length event is limited to 100 runners on a first come, first served basis. Early bird prices are available until Easter.
See www.capebrettchallenge.com for more information.
Dance show on Friday
Hip-hop dance students who have completed an eight-week course through DDf Dance will have a chance to show friends and family what they've learnt with a show at the Turner Centre Plaza from 6pm this Friday. Tickets are $8 or $25 per family at the door.
A load of rubbish
A new show, simply called Rubbish!, is opening at Kohukohu's Village Arts Gallery on April 11 promising "the transformation of used and waste materials into contemporary art". The show runs until May 14 and is part of the Upsurge Festival.
Drama in the attic
Pompallier Mission in Russell will be transformed into a performance venue for two days during the Upsurge Festival in late April.
The historic printery's attic will host three performances of the play The Bookbinder by Wellington-based Trick of the Light Theatre Company. The one-man show, described a s a dark fairytale, weaves together shadowplay, paper art, puppetry and music suitable for adults and children alike.
Pompallier Mission manager Scott Eliffe said the attic's ambience lent itself to live theatre - and the fact that Bishop Pompallier's team of Marist brothers bound books in the building more than 170 years ago made the setting even more evocative.
Shows are at 6pm and 8pm on April 25 and 6pm on April 26.
Youth sail voyages
Sixteen voyages are scheduled this winter for the tall ship R Tucker Thompson, giving 192 young Northlanders a chance to challenge themselves at sea.
Some voyages are tagged for specific purposes, such as May's sixth Tai Tokerau Challenge in which school teams will compete in a variety of tasks.
Another seven-day voyage will give trainees a chance to complete NZQA keel boat unit standards. Students interesting in taking part can contact Sophie Camplin on youth@tucker.co.nz. Application forms for the Tai Tokerau Challenge are available from http://tucker.co.nz/youth-voyages/sail_training/ or by emailing youth@tucker.co.nz.
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