10 Of The Best Things To Do In Auckland This Weekend

It's that glorious time again, and this weekend's lineup is just as stunning as all the rest proving Tāmaki Makaurau isn't the quiet city some people assume it to be. You've just got to know where to look. 

From vintage cakes that almost look too good to eat, a major One Direction milestone, a ceramics market and the return of one of the heaviest hitters on the city's culinary calendar to finding out whether you're being read to filth for your age, it's all here. Dig in. 

Here are 10 of the best things to do in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland this weekend. 

Jump to: 

• What’s On This Friday
• What’s On This Saturday
• What’s On This Sunday
• Things To Do All Weekend

What’s On In Tāmaki Makaurau This Friday

Celebrate One Direction’s 16th Anniversary 

Finally, a chance to flex your word-for-word recall of every One Direction lyric that ever was. Praise be to the folks at Superficial and The Tuning Fork who are joining forces to inject a solid dose of freshly spun 1D bangers into your Friday night. 

The Details 

When: 24 July 2026
Where: The Tuning Fork 
Cost: $30.11
Find out more here. 

The Push Presents: Mano Po 

A ‘mano po’ is a Filipino gesture of respect, given to your elders. When Kiwi-Pinoy comedian James Roque receives a mano po from a teenager, he spirals. A gig for that sinking feeling you get when the club bouncer waves you through without asking for your ID. 

The Details

When: 23-24 July 2026
Where: Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Avenue, Auckland CBD
Cost: $20-30+
Find out more here.

What’s On In Tāmaki Makaurau This Saturday

Decorate A Vintage Cake So Gorgeously It’ll Make Your Ma Proud 

There’s something so cheekily dramatic about vintage cakes. They scream utter perfection, while also beckoning you to free yourself from social niceties and just reach out and grab a fist-ful. At Uxbridge this Saturday you can spend five hours learning how to bend buttercream to your will, frilling, bowing, and swirling to your heart’s content before totally decimating it with your fork (or fist). BYO cake. 

The Details

When: Saturday 25 July 2026
Where: Uxbridge 
Cost: $139
Find out more here. 

Cut Some Shapes At A Winter Social

Dick Johnson is taking to the decks at waterfront bar and restaurant Half Moon Bay for a Winter Social that’ll be sure to keep things warm and cosy. Expect uplifting house, vocal classics, melodic grooves and feel-good dance music with an aperol tree to channel that Euro summer energy. And if you’re doing Dry July, there’s stacks for you too, featuring the absolute wizardry of Lyre’s non-alcoholic spirits. 

The Details

When: Saturday 25 July 2026
Where: Hello Sailor, 1 Ara-Tai Road, Half Moon Bay Marina 
Cost: $20
Find out more here.

What’s On In Tāmaki Makaurau This Sunday

Swipe Some New Ceramics 

The Auckland Studio Potters Association is throwing a Mid-Winter Pottery Market and more than 30 artisans will be flaunting their wares. This year the Soup Bowl Project and Choccy Mug Project will be out in full force, too, where bowls and mugs donated by ceramicists will be filled with soup or hot chocolate and can be purchased as a combo, to help raise funds for the association. This event is pup and child-friendly, and is wheelchair accessible.  

The Details

When: Sunday 26 July 2026
Where Auckland Studio Potters, 96 Captain Springs Road, Onehunga :
Cost: Entry is free
Find out more here. 

Set Yourself Up For A Very Smooth Sunday

Caretaker dishes up live jazz funk alongside their beguiling cocktails every Sunday from 9pm. The perfect tonic to a wild weekend, shimmy on over to the cocktail bar for a total change of pace and unwind with sensational cocktails and all the good vibes.

The Details

When: Sunday 26 July 2026
Where: Caretaker, 
Cost: Entry is free
Find out more here. 

Pat All The Pups

The Open Fort is giving us exactly what we need this weekend: an adorable pup gathering, complete with doggie speed-dating, dog life-drawing, dog art paw prints, a dog photographer, and a dog-agility course for enrichment. At this point I can barely see the keyboard because I’ve turned into the crying emoji. It’s just all so precious.  

The Details

When: Sunday 26 July 2026
Where: Queens Wharf, 
Cost: Free (but registering is essential)
Find out more here.

The Best Things To Do This Weekend

Pimp That Book 

I’ve just discovered that you can bedazzle books at Enamoured and I’m no gatekeeper, so let it be known, you can round up five bookish pals and lock in a two-hour session of rhinestoning, yaps, and steamy book-buying. Maybe with a cheeky vino, for good measure. Materials and a book up to $28 per person is included. 

The Details

When: At your whim
Where: Enamoured Books
Cost: $49 per person (minimum 6 people)
Find out more here. 

Eat All The Things 

Always one helluva food haven, the Auckland Food Show returns for a whopping four-day festival full of stalls so impressively laden the tables appear to defy gravity and unmissable masterclasses. Pop by and you could witness Sam Low whipping up a culinary storm in The Cooking Theatre, drop into a guided matcha tasting with Maru, or come away with the coveted title of Winter Cake Off Champion. 

The Details

When: 23-26 July 2026
Where: Auckland Showgrounds
Cost: From $20
Find out more here.

Snag Some Sewing Know-How 

A darling sewing studio is opening up on Eden Terrace on 27 July and it’s going to be sandwiched between Parable House and Hiraya Studio which means if your dream brunch involves seriously great kai, a pilates moment and a spot of crafting this is going to be a game-changer. Workshops have already gone live on Gather Studio’s website in anticipation of the launch and they’re selling out quickly so if that sounds like a bit of you, you’ll want to jump online and book, stat. 

The Details

When: Until sold out
Where: Online (and then at 47 New North Road, Eden Terrace)
Cost: Varies
Find out more here.

Want more? Check out: 

• All The Essential Food News (So You Can Be In The Know And Eat It Too)
• What's On In Auckland This Month And This Year
• The Best Ways To Celebrate Matariki In 2026