Pukapuka Adventures

Packed free days for families to share magical moments and ignite imaginations!
 

ACTION STATIONS
10AM-3.30PM SAT & 10AM-1PM SUN | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Auckland Writers Festival will have activities galore on their family floor of the Aotea Centre! Come get your creativity and craft on, all weekend.

• Add your dragon scale to the giant dragon mural by Kate Talbot
• Hunt out the Pincher' golden diamonds
• Snuggle up with a book in the reading caves
• Get crafty at the activity table and make a bookmark or thread a friendship bracelet
• Copy some famous book cover art, add it to the gallery and be in to win prizes
• Celebrate The Moomins 80th anniversary and make a Moomin house

SCHEDULE | SATURDAY 17 MAY

WICKED LAMBS AND WITCHY TROUBLES!
10-10.30AM | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Cackle and sing along with Anika Moa (Ngāpuhi; Te Aupōuri) as she spins the wickedly funny tale of The Witch of Maketu. Auē! 

ANIMAL ESCAPADES
10.45-11.15AM | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Gavin Bishop (Tainui; Ngāti Awa) is one of our most treasured children’s authors, and this year's Festival’s Honoured Writer. Join him on a delightful reading adventure from The Gavin Bishop Treasury with a sea-dreaming rabbit, a bear who refuses to hibernate, and his funny take on The Three Little Pigs. 

MAKE A MEAN ZINE
10AM-3.30PM | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Jump into the zine scene! Get inventive at our hands-on making station, where you and your whānau can create your own unique zine and badge to take away, and enjoy an eclectic collection of one-of-a-kind zines from the 2024 Best of the Fest awards.

Hosted by Auckland Zinefest.

DANCE LIKE THE ATUA
11.30AM-12PM | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Back by popular demand, you are invited to join dancers Abbie Rogers and Madi Tumataroa from Atamira Dance Company and move your way through Gavin Bishop’s (Tainui; Ngāti Awa) best-selling and award-winning book, ATUA: Māori Gods and Heroes. 

TAKE THE MIC
12.15-12.45PM | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Now is your time to take to the stage in this open mic session. Children of all ages are welcome to step up to the mic, test their latest material and share their best story, joke, poem or song. We’re all ears.

CRIMINALLY FUN!
1.30-2PM | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Meet the Pinchers — three generations of thieves, but son Theo doesn’t fit in; he can’t lie or cheat to save his life! In this interactive session, Swedish author/illustrator duo, Anders Sparring and Per Gustavsson share how they create thrilling and funny stories and illustrations. 

CONSTRUCT A STORY
2.15-2.45 | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Ready to construct a story together? Here’s your chance to build something amazing! Join author Claire Mabey (The Raven’s Eye Runaways) as she guides you through an interactive story-making process. 

A DREAMPANION QUEST 
3-3.30PM | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Transport yourself into Graci Kim’s exhilarating new series Dreamslinger, where dragons and phoenixes roam the skies, meals magically appear based on your mood, and your dreams literally come to life. 

HOW TO DRAW A DRAGON
9.30-10AM | Aotea Square

Join author and illustrator Kate Talbot to explore zany ideas and draw your own mini dragon. Add it to Kate’s giant mural, growing with creative dragon scales throughout the weekend for all Festival-goers to enjoy.

GRANNY MCFLITTER CHAMPION KNITTER 
Every 30 Minutes, 10.30AM-1PM | Aotea Square

Enter Granny McFlitter’s cosy caravan as author Heather Haylock brings her wild-weather adventure to life. Enjoy this delightful and humorous story in Granny’s very own caravan, then try your hand at knitting or join our knitting circle if you’re already a pro!

SCHEDULE | SUNDAY 18 MAY

ROCK SOLID
10-10.30AM | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

From the creators of The Bomb and Dazzlehands, Sacha Cotter and Josh Morgan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata), comes A Guide to Rocks — a lively handbook for tackling big emotions. Get ready for an animated storytelling event with live illustration, music and props!

ABSOLUTE NONENSE!
10.45-11.15AM | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Watch Olivia Tennet (Kiri and Lou) as she performs Joy Cowley’s A Lot of Silly. Expect absurd tongue-twisters, silly stories to tickle your funny bone, a mad costume box, and the chance to create your own nonsensical rhyme. 

WEAVING WONDERS
11.30AM-12.30PM | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Join in for a heart-warming session with award-winning Māori-Pasifika storyteller Qiane Matata-Sipu (Te Waiohua ki Te Ahiwaru me Te Ākitai; Waikato, Ngāpuhi; Ngāti Pikiao; Cook Islands), as she shares Ngā Kupenga a Nanny Rina / Nanny Rina’s Amazing Nets in both te reo Māori and English. Tamariki will then have the chance to learn how to weave and create a net together.

COLLAGE CREATION CORNER
10AM-12PM | Aotea Centre, 5th Floor - Activities Galore

Experience a creative upcycling session with our friends from The ReCreators. You’ll craft your own unique collage art using a laser-cut animal or character inspired by the books featured in Pukapuka Adventures. With a variety of materials at your fingertips, you'll bring your creature or character to life in this hands-on, inventive drop-in workshop.