Events
The last train to Spooksville
This Wellington Heritage Festival, Mainline Steam is running a special series of steam shuttles between Wellington and Plimmerton on the 31st of October, the spookiest day of the year.
Nostalgia expo
The Retro Event, one of New Zealand’s biggest celebrations of retro gaming and pop culture, comes to Wellington for the first time. Autobots, transform and roll out to the Wellington Indian Association in Kilbirnie on the 12th of September.
DIY fabulousness
Think you could bring a dazzling, diamond-dappled burlesque performance to the stage for under $100? Watch competitors from across the motu give it their all in The Great DIY BurlesKiwi at The Fringe Bar on the 6th of June.
Haere mai
Seven years after closing its doors, Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui Wellington Central Library welcomes Wellingtonians to discover, learn, and connect in the new space from the 14th of March.
Love Actually
This Christmas season, fill your cup at Love Actually in Concert, where you can catch the timeless classic on the big screen at Michael Fowler Centre accompanied by a live orchestra on the 20th of December.
Star-studded skirmish
Following three heats of jaw-dropping outfits and show-stopping spectacles, the Rising Star finale at Ivy Bar & Cabaret on the 29th of November guarantees fierce competition for the crown.
Do you like piña coladas?
Make genuine face-to-face connections at Sapphic Speed Dating Dinner Party and enjoy a four-course meal while Pōneke performer Ginger Velour jumps on the mic.
All things bird
Come one, come all to Explore Omnibirding with Giselle Clarkson, where the author and illustrator will guide readers through the inner workings of her new book and the wonders of the avian world at Tawa Library on the 3rd of October.
Embrace the chaos
Eyegum Music Collective’s multi-venue music and arts festival Great Sounds Great will take over Cuba Street Precinct on the 6th of September. We get the sneak peek from co-curator Ben Jones.
Hard hills and high fives
Brad Coleman created the Tip Track Marathon in 2017 as a joke that is still going even though no one is laughing. The ninth edition of ‘Wellington’s least favourite trail running event’ takes place on the 6th of September.
Bookmark this!
The inaugural Bookmark Kāpiti – an exciting and diverse festival of 25 events celebrating local people, stories, and places – will be held up and down the spine of the coast on the 9th and 10th of August.
Hear ye, hear ye
Huzzah, fellow reveller! Joust and jest at Sweet Axe Throwing Co’s Medieval Fight Night on the 26th of June, where trained warriors clad in gleaming medieval armour unleash flying axes and clashing swords.