It's already May, which means a hell of a lot for your calendar if you're lucky enough to live in Auckland. What's on, you now ask?
How about Aotearoa Art Fair, 2025 NZ International Comedy Festival AND —just to name a few. It's a certified weekend for the culture connoisseurs with a little bit of everything for the senses, and a little bit of something for everyone.
Here are 18 epic things to do in Auckland this weekend on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and all weekend.
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Friday 2 May
Ngā Hau e Whā | Tāmaki Makaurau
Exhibition From 1 May | The Pavilions & Föenander Gallery | Free
Image credit: Sam Harnett | supplied
Four boundary-pushing artists have joined creative forces in a celebrating the winds that draw people to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland—a place where people, ideas and energies from far and wide converge. Ngā hau e whā (the four winds) is a powerful showcase that explores movement, memory, resistance and Auckland's enduring vibrancy as a cultural melting pot, exhibiting at from 1 May.
DARKLIGHT: A Descent Into Colour
Tickets Live/Event 2-4 May | Brad’s Warehouse | $
Image credit: DARKLIGHT | supplied
Prepare your senses for a mind-bending journey through light and shadow—, a first-of-its-kind exhibition in New Zealand, is transforming Brad's Warehouse into an audio-visual playground where you'll be completely enveloped by interactive installations. Slots are strictly one hour, though you'll wish you could stay forever in this technicolour dreamscape.
Weave This One Into Your Weekend
30 April-4 May | Silo 6 | Free/$$
Image credit: Public Record | Instagram
A bit of a calendar clearer if we’ve ever seen one—Public Record is taking over iconic Silo 6 with a featuring nine local and international artists, including Japanese ceramicists and Kiwi textile and flax weaving masters. But the real showstopper happens Friday 2 May with Hau (), an immersive evening where sound, fashion and movement collide, featuring music by renowned composer Eve de Castro-Robinson.
Finally Find Out Whodunnit
'TIl 10 May | ASB Waterfront Theatre | $$
Image credit: Auckland Theatre Company | supplied
The of Auckland Theatre Company’s ‘25 run is a ride as thrilling as it is infamous. Agatha Christie’s iconic whodunnit Murder on the Orient Express has hit the stage, adapted by Tony-nominated Ken Ludwig, whilst Cameron Rhodes steps into the shoes of the brilliant Hercule Poirot.
2025 Best Foods Comedy Gala
2 May | Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre | $$ / $$$
Image credit: Best Foods Comedy Gala | supplied
It’s a funny time of year, ain't it? Well, that might be because the 2025 NZ International Comedy Festival kicks off this weekend, and to warm everyone's funny bones up, Hayley Sproull is hosting the always hilarious Best Foods Comedy Gala for 2025. Friday’s the day, but trust us when we say there are quite literally only a couple seats left.
The Jungle Giants
2 May | The Powerstation | $$
Image credit: Charlie Hardy | Instagram
They’re back, baby. Certified indie dance royalty AKA Ozzy darlings The Jungle Giants are bringing the energy back to NZ shores for the first time in over two years. Celebrating their brand-spankin' new single Hold My Hand, the groovy four-piece are tearing up one of our most-favourite venues , and it's some of our picks for the best Auckland live music this weekend.
Saturday 3 May
NAOMI FAIFAI Inner Workings
1-17 May | The Frame Workshop and Gallery | Free
Hailing all the way from little ‘ol Timaru, Naomi Faifai is bringing her vibrant exploration of identity to the chic streets of Auckland, in her first-ever solo exhibition. Through a riot of colours and mixed media, Faifai weaves frangipanis, fish, cell phones and daisies across 30 large-scale works celebrating self-acceptance and personal connection to place.
Samsung New Zealand’s E-Waste Collection Drive
3 & 10 May | Eden Park Carpark & Smales Farm Carpark
The infamous Junk Drawer—we all have one, we all wish we didn’t, and we now have a chance to say goodbye forever as Samsung New Zealand partners with Echo to host (Eden Park & Smales Farm). Heaps of stuff is accepted and Samsung will be providing $50 e-vouchers to spend on for it. How good.
FAM — Food. Art. Music.
3 May And Every First Saturday Thereafter | Karangahape Road | Free
Image credit: Karangahape Road | supplied
Karangahape Road is about to transform into a full-sensory extravaganza with the launch of —a bold celebration of Aotearoa's finest food, art, and music. From noon till 6pm, this pulsing street party will showcase local talent across multiple disciplines, shifting one of Auckland's most iconic streets into its very top gear.
Enjoy Some High-Voltage Theatre
'Til 3 May | Q Theatre | $$
Jo Randerson ONZM—one of Aotearoa's most celebrated artists—has brought her exhilarating new comedy about life with ADHD——to Q Theatre's intimate Loft space. With outrageous humour and surprisingly tender vulnerability, Randerson weaves punk poetic magic into a beautiful show about living life with a voltage so high it might just blow the mains.
Learn Of A Very Tasty Tequila Tale
'Til 12 May | Rooftop at QT | $$
Image credit: Rooftop at QT x Herradura Tequila | supplied
The nights are turning colder, and that calls for a quick retreat to a cosy corner of cactus country (complete with more margaritas than you can tipsily shake a wedge of lime at). Enter: , where Herradura Tequila has sashayed into Rooftop at QT to bring you six limited-edition margs and a tasting flight. Want more food news? Right this way.
Sunday 4 May
Aotearoa Art Fair 2025
1-4 May | Viaduct Events Centre | $$
45 galleries, over 150 artists and as much painting, photography, sculpture, digital and interactive contemporary art that you can look at before you turn into a bottle of paint. is about to be unleashed at the Viaduct Events Centre and is poised to be the grandest of all years so far—luckily for your little feet, it’s spread across four days with opening night this Thursday, so you won’t need to get to everything in one go.
Disgrace Your Italian Ancestors
‘Til 30 April | Mozzarella & Co. | $$
Image credit: voco Auckland City Centre | Instagram
How do you feel about ? We're not entirely sure either, but there's only one way to find out, and that's by ordering a bowl of this controversial dish from Mozzarella & Co., located inside the voco Auckland City Centre hotel.
Crayfish Nights At Eight
Every Sunday, While Stocks Last | Eight at Cordis Hotel | $$$
Image credit: Eight Restaurant | supplied
Love a Sunday roast but craving boujee? One of the best restaurants in Auckland, Eight Restaurant at Cordis, is doing the Lord’s work on the Sabbath, with their delicious and new . Running every Sunday (skipping Mother’s Day) while stocks last, for $129, enjoy half a premium New Zealand crayfish alongside an interactive dining experience discounted meals for the kiddies.
Wings for Life World Run
4 May | Mt Smart Stadium | $$
Image credit: Wings for Life World Run | supplied
This Sunday at 11pm under the flood lights of Mt Smart Stadium, we sleepy Aucklanders can join the world’s largest running event. is a worldwide jog where people pop on their trainers and all run at exactly the same time, and it's all for a good cause—100% of ($40) go to spinal cord injury research... just remember to outrun the ghost-mobile!
Devour Hearty Wellington Fare Alongside Sky-High Auckland Views
1-03 May | SO/ Auckland | $$
Image credit: Anya Konstantine Baranova/ SO/ Auckland | Supplied
Here’s a fact: hearty, grilled food pairs mighty well with a 15th-floors view of Auckland city. See for yourself, as (and their restaurant, Harbour Society) host Wellingtonian legends Charley Noble from . Carnivores of the world have oodles of steak cuts to choose from, alongside grilled market fish, cauli steaks and the like. You could make an entire meal out of the starters too—pate, prawn bisque, tartare done with a sleek twist.
All Weekend
Discover Some Seriously Impressive Sculptures
'Til May 14 | Viaduct Harbour | Free
Image credit: Luke FM Photography | supplied
Just when you thought the waterfront couldn’t get any more stunning, presents the Sculpture Trail— for your perusing pleasure. Pro tip: Download the trail map at viaduct.co.nz for maximum sculpture-hunting efficiency at this free open-air exhibition.
Get Your Puzzle On, At Pace
‘Til 31 May | Online | Free
Image credit: PieceHouse | supplied
This one can be saved for a rainy day—literally—so add to your list of fun things to do in Auckland this weekend if the forecast changes. For the dissectologists among us (there’s a word you might want to add to your arsenal), PieceHouse has teamed up with the NZ Jigsaw Puzzle Association for a featuring their new Feast & Fizz 500-piece puzzle—simply grab a copy, time yourself completing it, and submit your time only by 31 May for a chance to win.
Visit The Only Place With Stars, Stegosauruses And Freddy Mercury
April & May | Stardome | $
Image credit: Stardome | supplied
Following the smash hit Pink Floyd experience, is rocking the cosmos again with an epic —blast off to iconic anthems like Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock You, paired with mind-bending visuals in glorious 5.1 surround sound. And for the dino-obsessed, two new prehistoric planetarium shows are dropping this April— (narrated by our very own Sam Neill) and —both were filmed right here in Aotearoa, and they're guaranteed to be roarsome.
All that weekend planning left you hangry? Check out The Feed.
Main image credit: Aotearoa Art Fair | Instagram.
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