Here we go, another brilliant week and with it, another array of exceptional things to do in this here, our beautiful city—Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

And if five days of fun just ain't enough, then check out what’s on this weekend with my carefully crafted blueprint on how not to waste the end of the week.

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Jump to: 

• Don't Miss
• Free And Budget-Friendly Events
• Food And Drink Events
• Arts And Culture 
• Rainy Day Activities 
• Uniquely Auckland Experiences
• Coming Soon

Don’t Miss

World Press Photo Exhibition

'Til 24 August | 131 Queen Street (New Venue Due To Smith & Caughey's Closure) | $/$$

Image credit: Tomek Dersu Aaron

New venue, same dates, same jaw-dropping imagery. The prestigious World Press Photo Exhibition is returning to Queen Street this week, showcasing photojournalism from 42 international photographers. Featured stories include conflict, climate, and community, and proceeds support Rotary youth charities and the PHAB disability charity. Tickets are available online via Eventfinda or at the door. And take it from me: it's well worth the price of admission, and then some.

Free & Budget-Friendly Events

Stretchy Mornings + Stretchy Social

Thursday & Friday Mornings | Roam Movement Studio & Holy Shot Espresso, Bayfield Primary & Honey Sunday | $

Image credit: Stretchy Yoga | Instagram

I don't know about you, but I'm ending my week the right way—a wee bitta yoga and a whole lotta chinwagging, plus a much-needed dose of the good stuff. It's basically the perfect combo of stretching my body and my social circle, all around the same time I've usually hit my second or third snooze button, and it's all thanks to Stretchy Yoga and their Stretchy Mornings. Thursdays on the shore and Fridays in Herne Bay. Early bird gets the zen.

Food And Drink Events

Tuesday Night Quizzes In Auckland

Tuesdays | Citizen Park

Image credit: Citizen Park | Facebook

One of the oldest and best quiz nights in Auckland takes place every Tuesday at Citizen Park. And The Good Spirits Hospitality Master Quiz isn’t messing around with great prizes up for grabs. Past goods have included a luxury trip for six to Queenstown (including accommodation and flights), as well as a $1000 cash raffle. Dang. Oh, and if you want to check out all our other top mid-week quiz night recs, then follow me here.

Jacuzzi Ponsonby's Happiest Hours

Weekdays 4-6pm, All day Sunday | Jacuzzi Ponsonby | $

Image credit: Jacuzzi Ponsonby | Instagram

Jacuzzi Ponsonby's happy hours have to be some of the best in the city. Not only are they every weekday from 4-6pm, but also ALL DAY Sunday. And that's not where the incredible news ends. No sirree, this is not some stingy dollar-off affair; Jacuzzi Time is $8 across all tap beers—including Guinness—and house wines, plus $15 cocktails. Yep, you read that right... Eight smackaroonies for a delicious pint of the Irish answer to the end of the working day—or week. Could it be the cheapest in the 09? Would anyone fancy a Sunday session?

Beers & Bingo—Music Edition!

31 July | The Beer Spot Whangaparāoa | Free

Image credit: The Beer Spot Whangaparāoa | Instagram

Beers and bingo—to me, it’s the Timothée Chalamet x Kylie Jenner of events—something you’d never thought you’d witness, but now sounds like the perfect match, and even, perhaps, a natural pairing? It’s a bit like regular bingo, but a bit less of a snooze-fest. Instead of numbers, clips of well-known tunes are used, and your job is to recognise the song. I simply ship this idea from The Beer Spot in Whangaparāoa, and if you do too, then you should also know it’s completely free and whanau-friendly. Bookings not required but appreciated.

Harbourside Cocktail Masterclass

Thursdays, Various Slots | Harbourside Ocean Bar Grill | $$

Attention: budding mixologists, bartenders and gals night enthusiasts of the world, Harbourside Ocean Bar and Grill hosts cocktail-making masterclasses led by booze maestro Vish, every Thursday evening. We're talkin' Tiki Tiki Booms and Love Potions, plus freshly rolled sushi, market fish sliders, and house-made macaroons to munch while you mix. How good.

Bar Albert's Pasta Masterclass

31 August, 28 September & 26 October | Voco Auckland | $$$

Image credit: voco/Bar Albert | supplied

If you've got a shepherd's pie type of nana, but always wondered what a lasagne type of Nonna might be like, then you're in luck. Bar Albert's exclusive Pasta Making Masterclass, led by Executive Chef Daniel Mueller, is back on for a few special Sundays. It's a three-hour, hands-on kinda deal, and if the prospect of becoming your household’s pasta master isn’t enticing enough by itself, then check out where you’ll be doing it: soaking in the stunning backdrop of Auckland Harbour from the 38th floor of Voco. Spaces are even more scarce this time—seven per session—and for good reason; there'll be champagne on arrival, a gourmet antipasto platter throughout, and a pasta machine to take home. Whatttt?

Arts And Culture

The Royal New Zealand Ballet: Home, Land & Sea

31 July-2 August | Aotea Centre | $$

Image credit: Stephen A'Court

The ever-graceful and pointy-toed badasses over at The Royal New Zealand Ballet are back for a groundbreaking new season with Home, Land & Sea. Choreographed by acclaimed NZDC artistic director Moss Te Ururangi Patterson is this historic, first-ever collaboration with The New Zealand Dance Company and if you wanna witness greatness, then get down to Aotea Centre come 31 July.

Chicago The Musical

31 July-3 August | Bruce Mason Centre | $$-$$$

Image credit: Chicago the Musical/AucklandLive I website

A scintillating tale of fame, fortune and jazz-age glamour—the award-winning, globally adored Chicago the Musical is making its way to little ‘ol Auckland at the end of the month. Directed by Kiwi creative institution Michael Hurst, this brand-new production boasts a professional cast of international and New Zealand singers whom you can enjoy from the cushy seats of Bruce Mason Centre.

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

'Til 9 Aug | ASB Waterfront Theatre, Parnell Village | $$

Image credit: Andi Crown

Shakespeare’s timeless tale of love and tragedy gets a bold, 1960s makeover in this atomic production of Romeo and Juliet. Directed by Benjamin Kilby-Henson, Theo Dāvid and Phoebe McKellar shine as star-crossed lovers in a world of Missoni prints and Pucci glamour. A fresh, stylish take on a classic that’s as relevant today as it was back when they were all into their frilly clothes and the word ‘doth.

Rainy Day Activities

Enamoured Events: Quiet Nights & Book Club Evenings x

Tuesday & Thursday Evenings | Enamoured Books | Free/$

Image credit: Enamoured Books | Instagram 

This is another wee reminder that the best, greatest and first-ever romance-only bookstore in Auckland, Enamoured Books runs weekly late-night reading sessions and a space to host your own book club. Their new ‘Quiet Nights’ series lets you curl up with fellow romance enthusiasts every Tuesday evening until 8pm, and for just $10 on a Thursday, you can swoon over whatever heartthrob is forcing you and your crew to lick your fingers... to get to the next page, of course.

Get Dad Spaced Out To Pink Floyd

Various Screenings | Stardome Observatory & Planetarium | $$

Image credit: Bob van Aubel

If you've ever lived with anyone north of sixty who enjoys their tunes (boomers, I'm looking at you), then you've probably witnessed an iconic rainbow prism vinyl jacket emerge in the hands of someone three-too-many-gins in and a few years your senior. And god help the neighbours. But if you've never had a psychedelic uncle, or didn't own a soundsystem worthy of cranking The Dark Side of the Moon—or maybe you're just tired of all the noise complaints—then visit Epsom's Stardome Observatory & Planetarium sometime before the end of August for a sonically infused journey through the stars.

Coming Soon 

MARY: The Birth of Frankenstein

19 August-7 September | ASB Waterfront Theatre, Parnell Village | $$

Step into the dark, drug-fueled world of MARY: The Birth of Frankenstein, a gripping reimagining of the night Mary Shelley penned her iconic novel. Unsettling, lust-drenched, and utterly captivating.

New Zealand Fashion Week 2025

25-30 August | Shed10 | Various Events & Pricing

Image credit: Mara Sommer | supplied

The week of all weeks will soon be upon us, and if you keep on the beat with our Weekendly Drop (and frankly, why wouldn’t you?), then you’d remember I fancy myself as a bit of a young Tom Ford. That’s why I’m fizzing over New Zealand Fashion Week announcing their first wave of designer shows, featuring established names like Karen Walker, Zambesi, and Juliette Hogan alongside emerging talent and a very special Breast Cancer Cure Designer Showcase.

Ethel & Bethel’s Comedy Bingo Night—Fundraiser For The Kidney Society

12 September | Freemans Bay Community Hall | $$

Image credit: Ethel And Bethel | Instagram

Something about 'R18 Bingo Night' just gets me hyped. Maybe it's my competitive side, or maybe I just love taking seemingly innocuous events to the extreme—like that one mishap I had with Pin the Tail at my nephew's fifth birthday. Anyway... Ethel & Bethel's Comedy Bingo Night in September has me genuinely intrigued. It's a night with a mission—raising $30,000 to support people with kidney disease, with every ticket making a real difference. Beyond their sharp wit and chaotic energy, prizes, drinks, snacks, and a fair bit of community-inspired chaos await. No door sales, so grab your tickets now.

Winetopia Tickets

Event 3-4 October, Tickets On Sale Now | Viaduct Events Centre | $$

Top-shelf wines without the pomp and elitism? I'm sick to death of bending down to the bottom shelves of the supermarket wine section for $11 worth of cat p*ss. It hurts my back, my taste buds and my pride. That's why I'm very much fizzed for this year's Winetopia, celebrating a decade of doing exactly what the first sentence says. It ain't 'til October, but securing tickets for the big ten-oh is essential.

Cirque du Soleil: Corteo

30 Oct-2 November | Spark Arena | $$$

Image credit: Cirque du Soleil | Maja Prgomet

Cirque du Soleil is returning to Aotearoa this October, with the Auckland debut of Corteo. Directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, Corteo is a festive parade imagined from a clown’s perspective, set on a double-sided stage. Expect grace, power, and comedy played out in a liminal space between heaven and earth. Tickets are live.

TIRI: TE ARAROA WOMAN FAR WALKING

4-23 Nov | ASB Waterfront Theatre, Parnell Village | $$

Closing out the 2025 season is TIRI: TE ARAROA WOMAN FAR WALKING, a groundbreaking adaptation of Witi Ihimaera’s epic tale. For the very first time, the play will be performed in both English and te reo Māori. Directed by Katie Wolfe and starring Miriama McDowell, this two-part production follows Tiri Mahana, a 185-year-old matriarch, from the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi to modern-day Aotearoa.

Not in Auckland? Check out what's on in Christchurch, Wellington, and Queenstown this year.

Main image credit: Chicago the Musical/AucklandLive I Website.

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