20 SEP, 2025 | 3pm
Get ready for an epic afternoon of music and dance - SUSO 2025 Finals are here!
We The Young, the inaugural festival of arts, imagination and adventures, launches this September for Auckland’s tamariki and rangatahi!
The inclusive festival organised by Auckland Live that celebrates young people and their loved ones, will feature over 19 live performances, creative workshops, interactive art experiences, and FREE outdoor fun!
This festival is exclusively for young audiences, with shows to entertain six-month-olds, to sixteen-year-olds. Designed with families in mind, over half of the shows are completely free! Aotea Square will come alive daily with free, hands-on fun for the whole whānau this September. These playful, interactive experiences are designed to spark imagination, get tamariki moving, and create joyful memories, all at no cost!
Many events are relaxed performances, highly visual, or audio-based, welcoming neurodiverse audiences and ensuring young people of all abilities can participate.
The Imaginarium | Sat, 20 SEP, 10AM-3PM | Hunua Rooms & Waitākere Rooms, Aotea Centre | FREE (ticket booking required) | All Ages
The Imaginarium is a one-day creative explosion for tamariki and rangatahi to explore sensory discovery spaces, experience storytelling. Join music-making workshops and visual arts workshops that invite you to bring your inner world to life! The Imaginarium is a place where anything is possible.
Up And Away | 16 - 21 SEP, 10AM, 11AM, 1PM | Limelight, Aotea Centre | 40 Minute sessions | $20 - $30 | Age 3 - 13 months
A playful and gentle show created exclusively for babies and their grown-ups. Set in a carefully crafted open-sided tent, Up and Away creates a cosy, safe space with a limited number of attendees, ensuring an intimate and welcoming atmosphere. This work is for pre-walking babies, allowing for a truly baby centric experience. Informed by the latest neuroscientific research and developed in consultation with a speech and language therapist, Up and Away nurtures early development while embracing the magic of first discoveries.
Little Language Lounge | Sat 20 SEP, 10AM – 12PM | 2-hour sessions | Lower Ground foyer Auckland Town Hall | FREE
Join a cosy, multi-language storytelling experience where children can drop in and immerse themselves in tales from across cultures and traditions. An opportunity for young listeners to relax, engage, and be transported to new worlds through the magic of spoken word.
More From We The Young Festival 2025
The Valentina | Online event | Ages 8+
The Rebel Alliance have adapted the stage production of their award-winning space adventure, The Valentina, into an audio drama with pictures! Join 8-year-old Ellen as she alongside her trusted crewmembers Neil Armstrong, Yuri Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova and Laika the space dog go on an extraordinary journey past the edge of the unknown. Watch from home for 6 months on YouTube 6 months (online access $15).
A Taste of Art Battle – Young Guns | Sat, 20 SEP, 10am - 1pm | Concert Chamber Auckland Town Hall | FREE | All Ages
You’ve seen the world’s biggest LIVE painting competition hit the streets of Auckland – but now it’s the turn of our future artists to take centre stage! The audience decide the winner as the Young Guns showcase their talent and battle it out for spot prizes to gain YOUR vote! Ready. Steady. Paint!
The 95bFM Kids Show Live | Sun 21 SEP, 9AM – 11AM | Concert Chamber Auckland Town Hall | FREE
The 95bFM Kids’ Show is a place for children to share their thoughts, interests and talents live on the radio. Running since forever-ago the show features games, competitions, stories and songs and is a wonderful start to your Sunday morning while getting the kids up and ready for the day.
23 & 25 SEP, 2025
Physical theatre workshop for 12-13 and 14-16-year-olds.
DANCE-O-MAT | 16 - 28 SE, 8AM – 8PM | Aotea Square | All Ages
Auckland’s much-loved Dance-O-Mat is back—set up on Aotea Square and open for all to connect, move, and dance. Not familiar with it? It’s simple! Connect your phone, pick your favourite song, push the red button and cut loose to the beat. Surrounding Dance-O-Mat, you’ll find outdoor picnic tables and umbrellas, so whānau can relax, enjoy lunch, and soak up the city’s atmosphere in between shows
Play Activities | 20 - 28 SEP 11AM – 3PM | Aotea Square | Free | All Ages
There’s also a delightful lineup of hands-on fun in Aotea Square! Surrounding the We The Young offerings, families can enjoy a mix of creative and interactive experiences during the day. From Tea Parties and imaginative Junk & Craft sessions to high-energy Circus Workshops and fun with Ngaa Taonga Taakaro (traditional Māori games), there’s something to spark every young imagination.
$2.50 per hour to a max of $12.50 on weekends and a $12 flat rate for weekday evenings at The Civic car park. Find out more.
Last updated:
30 July 2025