As whatever befell you this week starts to fade, make way for the good life with a weekend lineup that's so hot, that you'll willingly drag yourself out of bed for it. And that's saying something because this winter-parading-as-autumn situation is not a vibe.
From fancy French eats underscored with a generous serving of house to romantic sketches of pansies, bottomless ramen, and a chance to brandish your lightsaber with reckless abandon. All this and more. Dig in.
Here are 21 epic things to do in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland this weekend on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and all weekend.
Friday 3 May
Put A Lil’ French In Your Friday
Are we talking about hightailing it to Atelier for their Festive Dining Series? Yes. Are we also alluding to the shenanigans you might get up to on your next Tinder date? Most definitely. Atelier never disappoints so head in early for a glass (or trois) of Le French Love shared over roasted rosemary-spiked camembert drizzled with honey and score yourself free entry into one helluva night of house with Madame Sass, Pãsha, Nico and Le Stag on the decks.
Trace A Silhouette
Swap your screen for a pencil this Friday and try your hand at live drawing at the Auckland Art Gallery, for free. The sessions are a great way to shake off any workday tensions by flexing your creativity. You’ll be guided by observational drawing tutor, Abbey Lyman, and drawing materials are provided (but you’re welcome to bring your own provided they’re dry).
Eat All The Things
Plant-based fare has levelled up over the years and this Vegan Food Truck Night at Point Chev Community Centre is no exception. Swing by and sink your teeth into everything from all-out decadence (see: Kookie Haus’ iconic NYC Ookies and Lalele Organic’s gelato on tap) to gloriously good bowls and the like by Vege Pulse, Sweet As Bowl, and Veg Van.
Saturday 4 May
Run Like Your Lightsaber Depends On It
It’s that gleeful time of year again and the good sorts at Cornwall Park Parkrun are throwing an event that’s probably definitely the best thing to do this weekend. On this auspicious day that, of course, means cladding yourself in Star Wars regalia and legging it around Cornwall Park. Fantasy fitness at its best. May the fourth be with you.
Eat Cake And Drink Matcha
Matcha is having a well-deserved moment right now and we just can't get enough of the green tipple. So when we discovered matcha maestros, Thea, are joining forces with for-the-love-of-cake Fankery for a Matcha Hangout, we swooned, hard.
Set to pop up in Thea's HQ in East Tāmaki from 10am 'til 3pm, treat yourself to a matcha three-way tasting platter, plus Fankery's classic cheesecakes, mochi-filled cookies, and shokupans, then wash it all down with some stunning matcha-laced drinks by Thea. We've got our eyes on the iced jasmine matcha tea with sea salt cream foam. Dreamy.
Foodgasm On Broadway
Scour the streets of Newmarket this Saturday in the pursuit of delectable bites. Hosted by none other than Chow Luck Club, the Walk, Dine and Explore Newmarket After Dark walking food tour is sure to kick hanger to the curb. Prepare to wrap your ‘buds around fine fare from Japanese ramen to Dongbei-style Chinese BBQ, and everything in between.
Nerd Out Over Books At Unity
We’ve got a lot of ideas about what the perfect weekend could look like but many of them include being in a bookshop after hours, especially if said bookshop is Unity Books. For just $5 this can be your reality at their May Book Club.
Hosted by Lisa J O’Reilly and Caitlin Funk you’ll delve into American Mother by Colum McCann and Diane Foley, a book Sting claimed will “shake your soul out”. Come for the book banter over drinks then redeem your ticket against a book purchase on the night.
Feast On Tāmaki Makaurau’s Tastiest Food Trucks
You know the drill, The Food Truck Collective is turning it out this Thursday through Saturday bringing their Food Truck Round Up to MOTAT. The lineup includes Double Dutch Fries, Miso Ra, Lalele Organic Gelato, Akemi’s Gyoza, Bon Appetit Creperie, Brooklyn Dogs, Hungariantwister, K Pork, Karaage Boy, and Amaranto, plus the ever-popular Crate Bar.
Marvel In Midlife
Grey Lynn’s Basecamp Yoga is hosting a Marvelous Midlife workshop for women aged 40-70 this Saturday. Part yoga flow, part educational round up be led by board-certified naturopath, yoga therapist and health coach, Alana Keith, you’ll learn about midlife hormones, gut health, stress and weight management, beauty and self-image, energy, and fatigue. If that sounds like a bit of you, you can get your mitts on a ticket, here.
Time Travel Through Tinned Goods
If you’re looking for a change of scene, you’ll do well to peer into the collection of biscuit tins currently on show at Studio One Toi Tū. Salvaged from dumps and charity shops or otherwise acquired by experimental artist, performance designer and deviser Sarah-Jane Blake, these Tinned Goods might as well be portals into other realms. Swing by and stay a while.
Sunday 5 May
Eat Your Weight In Bottomless Ramen
Yes, you read correctly. Iconic Korean joint, Obar, is slingin’ ramen by the bowl and it’s bottomless. For just $9.90 you can slurp back as many bowls as you can muster in an hour and this Sunday’s your last chance to dip your chopsticks into the mix. Round up your noodle-loving mates (even the vegetarian ones) and book a table, stat.
Unfurl Your Art Skills
If there’s one way to enhance any weekend, it’s with plants. Specifically, hanging out in a cosy nursery and drawing them and that’s exactly what you can do this Sunday. The three-hour botanical art workshop is a relaxed, guided art hang led by artist Jennifer Duval-Smith focusing on pansies and violas.
Tickets include morning tea and coffee, all art supplies, and a donation to Friends of the Domain to support the plants and premises. First stop: snag a ticket; second: gasp-worthy plant tattoos as drawn by you.
Muse Over Markets
The General Collective Lifestyle & Design Market is popping up at Auckland Showgrounds this Sunday so if you need some sort of gift, like, yesterday, seize the day. Popping up in Auckland Showgrounds from 9am ‘til 3pm you’ll find homewares, jewellery, skincare, local art, plants, ceramics, and bits for kids.
Find The Artistry In Your Yoga Practice
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki’s yoga and art immersion is on now. Surrounded by an ever-changing array of historic and modern artwork, this is a yoga class like no other. Taking place every Sunday from 9am to 10am and led by qualified yoga teacher, Penny Hacking, you’ll be stretching, strengthening and expanding your understanding of self and life in a stunning setting. Namasté to that.
All Weekend
Help Reemi End Period Poverty
Getting your period when you least expect it—and even when you are expecting it—can be a total pain. Moreso, when you’re in the middle of a bloody conflict zone. Local nonprofit, Reemi, is all about ending global period poverty and they’re making a difference right this instant, sending their reusable period underwear to people in Gaza. We think that’s pretty great, and if you do too by showing your support with a donation.
Get On Your Bike And Ride… To Academy Cinemas
If you go weak at the knees for anything on two wheels—be it a grunty mountain bike, a quaint basketed number (with flowers, obvs), or a cheeky lil’ fixie—you’re going to want roll straight into The Big Bike Film Night.
A proudly left-field festival, it’s packed to the hilt with short films that riff on bike life in all its iterations. Better still, one lucky biker will score them and a bud the Ultimate Cycling Adventure worth over $5k. Swish.
Vote For Free Couriers
Money is incredibly tight in the charity sector with logistics fees, like mailing resources out to those in need, severely impacting how much good mahi can be done. Fortunately, NZ Post’s Delivering For Good initiative is back which means one local organisation is about to score a whole year’s worth of free couriers.
The organisations vying for your vote are Blind Low Vision NZ, Southern Cochlear Implant Programme, Dignity, Mental Health Foundation NZ, Anxiety NZ, Live For More, Burnett Foundation Aotearoa, Land Search & Rescue NZ, The Nest Collective, Foster Hope, Prostate Cancer Foundation NZ, Abilities Group, and Blue Light. Cast your vote here.
Dive—Mouth First—Into Eat Drink Love Ponsonby
One for the epicurean’s calendar, Eat Drink Love Ponsonby’s (EDLP) month-long food fest is back so it’s time to ring in those catch-ups you haven’t quite got around to yet. EDLP is all about getting the most for your dollar and, we can assure you, this year’s sweep of deals is pretty darn jaw-dropping in this financial climate. Get our hot take on everything you need to devour then fill your calendar.
Suss Mum Out With Something Nice
Before you freak out, it isn’t Mother’s Day just yet. It is, however, just around the corner on 12 May (FYI that’s next weekend) so now’s the opportune moment to figure out how on earth you’re going to celebrate the mother figure in your life. Luckily, we’ve got you sorted—we’re cool like that—with a bunch of actually great ways to spend quality time with mum plus a solid Mother’s Day gift list brimming with goodies.
Learn A Thing
The temptation to hibernate is strong with the changing of seasons ushering in some dreary days but just because it’s cold out doesn’t mean you have to stop doing the fun stuff. Enter: Tāmaki Makaurau’s inimitable workshops. No matter what the weather gods have in store, you can still have one helluva weekend whipping up all manner of cakes, candles, cocktails, and more.
Get Those Steps In
Spending some time in nature can be exactly what you’re in the mood for as the seasons begin to change and whether you’re after a coastal stroll, a slog up a never-ending staircase, a forest-bathe or an urban jaunt, we’ve got it all. Check out the best the city has to offer or, if you’ve got a pooch in tow, you might like to explore the top dog-friendly walks.
All this weekend planning got you feeling a bit peckish? Wrap your taste buds around the latest food news.
Main image credit: Kookie Haus | Facebook.
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