Easter weekend guide: It's not all bunnies and chocolate eggs

Workman Motutapu Terekia takes a breather while unloading entries in the Auckland Easter Show's letterbox competition. Picture / Paul Estcourt

A jazz festival and a royal show, a horse race and a rock concert are but a few of the activities on offer over Easter.

The Royal Easter Show kicks off today and runs until Tuesday. The show includes a live act featuring Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra and penguins Skipper and Private.

Spongebob Squarepants will make an appearance with other cartoon favourites, as well as all the usual sideshow attractions.

City kids will also be able to view and pet farm animals more often spotted steaming on a roasting dish.

Just down the road, the Easter Carnival will be held at Ellerslie Racecourse over two days: Easter Saturday and Easter Monday.

The carnival features the Group One $150,000 Easter Handicap. The latest addition to the Ellerslie Legends Club - which honours people who have contributed to the racecourse's success - will also be announced on Monday.

Anyone looking for an early start before going to the horses on Saturday should take the opportunity to visit that south Auckland staple, the Otara market. The marketplace, in the shopping centre on Newbury St, gets going from 6am.

Easter weekend is the last chance to catch the Magic Circus of Samoa - performing for the first time in New Zealand - at David Lange Park, in Manukau.

The circus, which finishes on Sunday, features the usual carnival attractions, along with a mixture of South Pacific performers and acts from Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

On Waiheke Island, Easter holidaymakers can relax and enjoy the laid-back sounds of the JVC Waiheke Island Jazz Festival.

Artists include Meech & Co, Grand Central Band, and the Chris Mason-Battley Group as well as a host of other national and international musicians. Musical styles will run the gamut, from boogie to big band and even a little New Orleans vaudeville.

For those who prefer their music a little rougher, the Rolling Stones play Western Springs on Sunday night and the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Tuesday.

Back to the wee ones, nothing excites young children more than to be told the city they live in actually rests directly above an active volcanic field. So, as Easter morphs into school holidays from Tuesday, desperate parents can take their youngsters to any Auckland City Library for an educational programme "exploring Auckland's volcanic past and natural disasters through games, activities, competitions and much more!"

There will also be prize packs awarded to lucky children.

Among the goodies are a survival kit containing a torch and batteries, food items, water, a book or movie vouchers - everything a school-age child needs to survive the Big One.

* Waikato

Te Awamutu, about 30 minutes' drive west of Hamilton, hosts the FEI Eventing World Cup at the Kihikihi Domain from Friday through to Sunday.

The event, which features dressage, cross country, show jumping and entertainment, is one of 17 qualifier events held throughout the world culminating in an annual final.

Spectator admission is free.

Also free is The Great Easter Hunt at the Waikato Museum, in Hamilton, from 10.30am tomorrow to Sunday.

Everyone is welcome, and all you must do is complete a quiz to receive your Easter prize.

* Bay of Plenty

Jazz music is also on offer in Tauranga over Easter, in the form of the Montana 44th National Jazz Festival, which also includes the 29th National Youth Jazz Band Competition.

Youth bands will perform at Baycourt Master from 9am Friday and Saturday. Admission is $7 a half day, $12.50 a full day.

The Hyundai Pro competition, the first event in the 2006/07 Lion Red Pro Surfing Tour, will be held at Tay St Reserve tomorrow through to Sunday.

Also in Tauranga, Rotary's Annual Easter Book Sale is on at the Satara Totara St Coolstore from 9am Saturday to Tuesday. 
 

What's on

Royal Easter Show
Where: ASB Showgrounds in Epsom.
Hours: 9am to 9pm daily, except Tuesday, when it closes at 6pm.
The concession price for a family of five is $36.

Magic Circus of Samoa
Where: David Lange Park, in Manukau.
Hours: From 7pm, with tickets priced at $15 for adults, $10 for children.

Waiheke Island
Jazz FestivalWhere: Matiatia Bay, Waiheke Island.
Hours: 10am daily, from today until Monday, with all-day jazz parties. Tickets range from $20 to $55.