Events

There are many weekend markets around the Auckland Region, here are two to tempt you:

Avondale Sunday Market: Avondale Race Course, Ash Street, Avondale. Held every Sunday from 6 am to Midday. 
There is a strong Polynesian and Asian influence at this market.  With a multitude of stalls you will find arts and crafts, new and used products, produce and clothes.  This is a great day out in a multicultural atmosphere.

The City Farmers Market: Behind the Train Station, Galway Street, Britomart, Auckland City. Every Sunday 8am to Midday.
This market brings a bounty of regional produce to town for Aucklanders every week.  Fresh, seasonal, quality fruit and vegetables, eggs, meat and much more are delivered direct from local growers and farmers.

Held over the three days off Anniversary Weekend, this is New Zealand’s ultimate seafood celebration.

The 2012 Auckland Seafood Festival will be held at Wynyard Quarter. This vibrant addition to the waterfront is not only big enough to house our ever-expanding festival, it’s great location in the BIG little city is handy for parking, public transport and accommodation. And of course it has some amazing views across the Waitemata Harbour.

All in all, it’s a pretty great place to enjoy some of New Zealand’s best seafood. There are over 100 varieties of seafood in NZ, and more than 40 different species will be on offer at the festival! All in all you can enjoy over 90 dishes including crayfish, paua, mussel, oysters, scampi, whelks and of course many different varieties of fish. Add to that all day music, loads of entertainment & competitions plus a great selection of NZ wine and beer. Hard to beat!

The Seafood School returns again with cooking classes from top chefs every day, open to all visitors with no additional charge. And for 2012 we introduce a Top Seafood Chef challenge for lucky audience members.

New this year is our 'Dine on Dockside' area featuring six great restaurants, our popular Oyster & Champagne Tent and much much more that we will reveal as we lead up to the event.

General admission tickets will be $20 at the gate but until 31 December 2011 tickets are just $15 online at Eventfinder. No booking fees, delivery or courier charges.

Tickets are available at the gate but the numbers will be limited due to expected high demand. To avoid disappointment, buy them online with no transaction fees at Eventfinder. To purchase now, click ‘Buy Tickets’.

Children 13 and under are free when accompanied by an adult.

Don't miss out on this great event, book today.

This summer the festival is located at one of Auckland City’s newest sites, the newly revamped Silo Park, Wynyard Quarter, Beaumont Street. The recently developed Auckland Waterfront with spectacular views to the Harbour Bridge and the towering restored silos will provide the backdrop for 2012’s coolest indie line-up.

Over the last three years, the Laneway Festival NZ has hosted many brilliant musical acts including Echo and the Bunnymen, Daniel Johnston, The 3Ds, Foals, Yeasayer, The Dirty Three, Deerhunter, Beach House, Blonde Redhead & Childrens Hour. Other unknown acts that have gone on to have major international success shortly after the festival is announced: Florence + The Machine, The XX, Cut Off Your Hands, Ariel Pink & Warpaint.

Once again these ground-breaking, genre-bending musicians – some of which will be your recent discoveries and others soon-to-be your new favourites, will play this one day festival. And one thing unites them all: they are spine-tinglingly amazing live.

So here it is:

• Feist
• The Horrors
• Gotye
• Laura Marling
• Pajama Club
• SBTRKT (Live)
• Shayne P Carter
• Washed Out
• Twin Shadow
• Anna Calvi
• M83
• Cults
• Girls
• EMA
• Yuck
• Toro Y Moi
• Wu Lyf
• Glasser
• Opossom
• the Pains of Being Pure At Heart
• Austra Transistors

Tickets on sale now.

For all the latest news and ticket information go to

www.lanewayfestival.co.nz

The Auckland Anniversary Day Big Draw is an event for people of all artistic abilities. Bring your own sketch book, pens and pencils and we’ll enjoy a few hours on Auckland’s waterfront sketching the awesome Anniversary Day celebrations. We’ll convene at 4.30pm to enjoy viewing each other’s sketches and unique interpretations of Auckland.

Meet in front of the Wynyard Quarter Information Kiosk at the end of Halsey Street (the building made of old shipping containers).

To register your interest or for more information, email murray@worksight.co.nz
or visit www.aucklandsketchbook.com

Bring all the family to celebrate the new Year of the Dragon at Auckland's 13th annual Lantern Festival in downtown Albert Park. Choose from dozens of delicious Asian food stalls and picnic on the grass amidst hundreds of beautiful lanterns specially imported from China. Non-stop entertainment on our main stage includes a dragon and lion dance group from Shanghai, a reggae band Chinese-style from Beijing, an opera and modern dance group from Taizhou and a capella group from Hong Kong. Not to be missed! Brought to you by Asia New Zealand Foundation in partnership with Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) and core sponsor HSBC.

Choose from dozens of delicious Asian food stalls and picnic on the grass amidst hundreds of beautiful lanterns specially imported from China.

Non-stop entertainment on our main stage includes a dragon and lion dance group from Shanghai, a reggae band Chinese-style from Beijing, an opera and modern dance group from Taizhou and a capella group from Hong Kong. Not to be missed!

Brought to you by Asia New Zealand Foundation in partnership with Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) and core sponsor HSBC.

We offer a fine selection of NZ-designed, made and/or handmade merchandise with a distinctive contemporary Kiwi flavour (styles to suit everyone, ranging from high street fashion, iconic Kiwiana, vintage & retro, to novelty & kitsch) as well as some quality imported goods, a range of gourmet culinary delights, free parking & live jazz.

We've also recently expanded to include an outdoor area for gazebos in the car park on Polygon Rd (as well as our indoor spaces inside the hall), and wish to extend a very warm welcome & the offer of zero vendor fees to any vendors from Christchurch with salvageable stock they are currently unable to trade in Christchurch. Limit of 20 Chch spaces available, however this will be ongoing at all future markets.

Red Cross donation buckets will also be available on the day for anyone wishing to give to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.

Don't miss this incredible opportunity to also come and support Christchurch, as well as experience NZ art & culture at its finest.

Join the miracle - Rise up Christchurch!

Vendor enquiries to info@artisanmarkets.co.nz.

To be held on the shoreline of the Waitemata Harbour, the organisers have another great selection of music and entertainment lined up over the two stages including Che Fu and Boh Runga, The Phoenix Foundation, Shona Laing, Andrew Clay and Jeremy Elwood, as well as many others.

Quality wine will once again be available with regulars such as Kim Crawford, Passage Rock, Westbrook and St Jerome Wines returning, while newcomers will include Tohu Wines and Ransom Wines. In total over 20 wineries.

 Tempt the tastebuds with food from New Zealand and across the World. 2012 also sees the introduction of McCashins Stoke beer (and a special festival drop) as well as Rochdale Cider range. We also welcome Kohu Road Ice Cream to the festival, who will also have a one-off special festival temptation.

So don't miss out, pre-purchase your ticket through Ticketek and go in the draw to win one of three great prizes:

- LG 37 inch TV

 - Weekend stay at Carrington Resort at Karikari

 - A Fisher & Paykel kitchen pack valued at $7,800

• Pre-purchase - Saturday: $30.00
• Door sales - Saturday: $35.00
• Pre-purchase - Sunday: $30.00
• Door sales - Sunday: $30.00
• Festival Zone - special admission: $80.00

Splore 2012 has a tantalising little music taster of what to expect at the beach at Tapapakanga Regional Park next February 17 -19.

Mixing it up at Splore will be the dancehall/reggae grooves of Gappy Ranks, the mesmerising vocals of Tiki Taane’s acoustic show and the waiata good times from Fat Freddy’s Hopepa’s - The Yoots.

Splore’s taster demonstrates its eclectic music policy which has become an expectation of the loyal Splore festival fans. “The audience now demands the new, the unknown and the surprise factor” says music director John Minty, “all of which Splore delivers on with its excellent entertainment offering of music, art and performance set in the most idyllic beachside location”.

UK’s hottest reggae/dancehall proponent, Gappy Ranks, makes his first visit to New Zealand. From the streets of London’s Nottinghill Carnival to the beach at Splore this is one act that will travel well.

Also confirmed are Australia’s premier live hip hop/soundscape producers Hermitude and the uplifting gypsy funk of The Barons of Tang.

Wellington bands The Nudge (think swamp music with a party edge), Black Seeds’ Mike Fabulous’ Lord Echo and His Melodies and Aarona Tokona’s powerful funk and soul five piece, AHoriBuzz - will make the trip north for Splore.

UK hip hop DJ supremo Shortee Blitz and dub legend Earl Gateshead (Trojan Sound System anyone?) also return to spread the summer vibe.

Further exciting new music artists will be announced in the coming weeks.

In March 2012 Auckland will stage the Leg 4 finish from Sanya in China and the start of Leg 5, which takes the fleet into the Southern Ocean once again, round the infamous Cape Horn and up to a finish and Stopover in Itajai, Brazil.

The Volvo Ocean Race is acknowledged as the greatest test of sailing prowess and human endeavour as the world’s fastest monohulls race a nine month marathon around the globe deep into the bleak latitudes of the Southern Ocean and through the world’s most hostile seas.

Each Stopover features an In-Port Race, with points counting towards the Volvo Ocean Race overall standings, and a Pro-Am Race.

The boats are due to arrive in Auckland on Thursday 8 March. The Pro-Am Race is scheduled for the Friday 16 March with the In-Port Race on Saturday 17 March. The Start of Leg 5 will take place on Sunday 18 March.

The last Auckland Stopover was a decade ago, during the 2001/2002 Race and there was a brief visit to New Zealand for the race in 2005/6 with a 48 hour pitstop in Wellington. The 2012 Stopover will be the eighth time the Race has come to Auckland.

Auckland Viaduct will be transformed into a vibrant Race Village for the Stopover with the new Viaduct Events Centre acting as Race HQ and a packed programme of entertainment on Latitude Island.

And, best of all, it's free!

Full details will be announced over the coming months.

www.volvooceanraceauckland.com/