Auckland Events

Summer is a happening time in Auckland. In January there are the Open Tennis Championships and the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, commemorating the arrival of Captain Hobson in New Zealand. Come March, the hugely popular Pasifika Festival celebrates Polynesian culture through music and performances at Western Springs. The Waiheke Jazz Festival also tunes up in March and full-size Maori waka (war canoes) take to the Waikato River, Ngaruawahia, for the Turangawaewae Regatta. November blooms with the Ellerslie Flower Show at the Botanic Gardens, and the year is wrapped up in December with the Auckland Cup at Ellerslie Race Course. Various small food, wine and music festivals crop up throughout the year.