The Spinoff’s top picks of events from around the motu.
Weekday workers rejoice! It is a long weekend and we are also not termites, who do not sleep and instead work until they die (must feed, build and protect the colony). Yes, sun and warmth might be distant memories, but that does not mean we can’t have fun. Almost everything on this week’s noticeboard is inside, where you will be protected from rain.
Music: Pulotu Underworld presents Road To Glasto fundraiser
Neck of the Woods, 155B Karangahape Road, Auckland Central
10pm-3am Friday, May 30
$40 – $55
I don’t think anything feels as good as partying for a good cause, as what could be hedonism is re-routed to also tick the type two fun box. This Friday, Pulotu Underworld, a collective based across Aotearoa and the UK that celebrates Pacific music, culture and artistry founded by Lady Shaka, is putting on a fundraising show. They need funds to get artists over to the UK, where they will be the first ever Pacific Island collective to curate a stage at Glastonbury.
All five artists heading to Glastonbury will perform, so it’s a taste of the famous festi right here on K Road. The dancefloor will be ruled by Mokotron (Ngāti Hine), Poppa Jax (Ngāti Raukawa ki Wharepuhunga), Katayanagi Twins – DJ Fine China, Rain (Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Samoa, Tonga, Niue) and DJ K-Swizz (Cook Islands). They say it’s your chance to support Indigenous excellence and it’s also your chance to dance.
Northland
Film: The Chodge
Event Cinemas, 18 James Street, Whangārei
6.30pm Thursday, May 29
$19 – $23.50
Part of the Resene Architecture & Design Film Festival, this is a local documentary about an award-winning home built on the banks of Lake Whakamaru.
Sculpture: Yellow Post
Brick Bay, 17 Arabella Lane, Snells Beach
10am-4pm Monday-Friday, 10am-9pm Saturday, 10am-5pm Sunday
$18
There’s a new addition to the 2km sculpture trail, a yellow tower based on hākari, the massive, pyramid-shaped structures on which Māori would showcase important feasts.
Tāmaki Makaurau
Music: Thee Golden Geese at Wintergeddon
Mainstage at Armageddon, Auckland Showgrounds, 217 Greenlane West, Auckland
11am Saturday, May 31
$28 or free for under 12s (Entry to Armageddon)
A pitch of “very unusual”, “waterfowl themed” and “an incredible multimedia storytelling experience” is possibly an undersell for this band. It might just be a once-in-a-lifetime-what-is-happening-wow kind of experience.
Festival: Artists for Palestine
The Button Factory, 2 Abbey St, Auckland Central
2pm-12am Sunday, June 1
$5 – $100
There will be a market, tattoo artists, DJs, live music, a raffle and more to fundraise for a family trying to escape Gaza.
Theatre: Reo Taiohi Mai
Glen Eden Playhouse Theatre, 15 Glendale Rd, Glen Eden, Auckland
1.30pm Sunday, June 1
Free
Improv theatre with music by Samara Alofa and PollyHill that will explore youth perspectives on democracy and civics.
Palmerston North
Market: Red Cross book sale
Barber Hall, Waldegrave Street, Palmerston North
10am-8pm Friday, May 30
10am-6pm Saturday, June 1
10am-4pm Sunday, June 2
10am-2pm Monday June 3
Free entry
Napier
Exhibition: Pūrākau o Te Whenua
MTG Hawke’s Bay, 1 Tennyson St, Napier
9.30am-5pm daily
Free
If you’ve ever wondered about the story of Ngā Tohorā e Whitu (Seven Whales) or how Lake Waikaremoana or Te Mata o Rongokako got their names you will find all the answers here.
Te Whanganui-a-Tara
Music: vegetable.machine.animal album release
Pyramid Club, 272 Taranaki Street, Mount Cook, Wellington
8pm Friday, May 30
$20
This is an album informed by inter-species collaboration put together by a drummer and percussionist of found sounds.
Blenheim
Visual art: The Adam Portraiture Award 2024
Marlborough Art Gallery Te Kahu o Waipuna, 15 High Street
10am-4pm Tuesday-Sunday until June 8
Free
On tour from the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata are paintings of New Zealanders, by New Zealanders.
Ōtautahi
Comedy: Solo Yeet
Little Andromeda Theatre, Level 1, 134 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch
8pm Friday, May 30
$15 – $20
“This is an hour long show, performed by one person, who has no idea what they are going to perform before the show. As much as this is art, this is also a feat of physical and mental athleticism.”
Ōtepoti
Music: Pearly*, HōHā and Eris
Yours, 43 Moray Place, Dunedin
8pm Saturday, May 31
$15 (all ages)
I’m unfamiliar with Pearly* but HōHā hold a special place in my heart and are not to be missed.
Hokitika
Food, dance, music: Culture Fest ’25
Lazar Park Hall, 147 Hall Street, Hokitika
11am-3pm Saturday, May 31
Free
Enjoy food, dance and music from the Phillipines, Germany, South Africa, Ireland, the USA, China and India.
