Weekends In The City Centre

16 - 18 May 2025:

Lots to do at the Writers Festival 2025

A New Light | 16-18 May 

To celebrate the city of stories that Tāmaki becomes during AWF, award-winning designer Marcus McShane is weaving his bike-bound projector through the city’s streets and alleyways, casting on to its architecture Festival writers’ words that capture the beauty of daybreak and nightfall, each Festival day. Join in or drop in/out, check out the projection locations here

The Book Factory | Aotea Square | 16-18 May 

Be part of the creative powerhouse in Aotea Square over the course of AWF and have a go at writing, editing, drawing, printing or pedalling your way to producing one-of-a-kind books, all completely people powered!

Kōrero Corner | Aotea Centre | 16-18 May 

Kōrero Corner is packed with short, drop-in sessions that are sure to inform, intrigue and inspire. Stop by during your Festival day to see what's going on. 

See more events on at the Writers Festival here.

Try something new this weekend...

^{Rhythm Nation with Te Whare Kairoi | Saturdays in May | 11am-21pm}

Join us every Saturday in May at Te Wharekura and surrounding Te Wānanga for a vibrant, interactive performance celebrating Māori music and movement as part of NZ Music Month. Led by Te Whare Karioi, from the heart of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, these free, whānau-friendly events invite you to connect with Tāmaki Makaurau’s rich whakapapa through live performance and hands-on experiences. Feel the pulse of the haka, hear the call of ancient instruments, and move to the rhythm of poi.

DARKFIELD: SÉANCE AND FLIGHT | Aotea Square | 07 May - 08 Jun | $23

Two uniquely captivating experiences unfold inside custom-built shipping containers...DARKFIELD use their signature 360-degree audio and sensory effects to place you in the middle of a Victorian séance and thrust you into an other-worldly aeroplane journey that will challenge your senses in complete darkness, leaving you questioning what's real and what's imagined. Enter if you dare...

Music Month in the City | Vulcan Lane | Free

It's back! Music Month in the city centre is popping off with performanes happening all over the streets of the city. This Friday from 4:30pm until 6pm, enjoy the musical stylings of Joe Kaptein and Band as they draw influence from the adventurous mid-70s era of celestial jazz-funk by the likes of Donald Byrd and Ramsey Lewis, as well as lounge lizards such as Burt Bacharach and Ennio Morricone. Auckland-based pianist and composer Joe Kaptein presents some fresh original sounds brought to life with the able support of the band - as well as a handful of obscure covers thrown in.