A photograph of the Hundertwasser Centre showing the building from an elevated vantage point. There is a fine sky above it.
The Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whāngarei is part of the Silver Festival this month.

Pop CultureOctober 2, 2025

Fun for all ages with circus, opera and zine-making in this week’s Spinoff event guide

Books editor
A photograph of the Hundertwasser Centre showing the building from an elevated vantage point. There is a fine sky above it.
The Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whāngarei is part of the Silver Festival this month.

The Spinoff’s top pick of events from around the motu. Here’s the best for the week October 2-9.

Welcome to The Spinoff event guide, your weekly, curated selection of gigs, events and exhibitions happening across Aotearoa. If you want to pitch your event for future guides then please use this handy form.

Whangārei

Photograph of the Hundertwasser Centre in Whangārei showing a garden and lawn with a golden tower in the background.

Visual Art: Silver Festival Morning Tea

Hundertwasser Art Centre & Wairau Māori Art Gallery
10am–12pm Tues, October 7
$20 (includes morning tea, guided tour of the exhibition, spot prizes)

The Silver Festival Whangārei is a festival designed to cater for older age groups. This event is a multi-faceted “relaxed and inspiring morning” at the Hundertwasser.

Tāmaki Makaurau

A promotional image for the FAM markets which has a photo of a man playing music on the street, and large red lettering with a light blue background.

Market: FAM: Food. Art. Market.

Karangahape Road
10am–2pm Sat, October 4
Free

The first edition of a new monthly market of food, art, live music and kid-friendly activations in and around Karangahape Road.

Market: Freida Market

Freida Margolis, 440 Richmond Rd
10am–1pm Sat, October 4
Free

Vintage clothing, baked goods, plants, flowers, art, crafts, jewellery and tunes.

Heretaunga

A cropped photo of singer Deva Mahal who is a dark-skinned woman. She is wearing a blue dress and there is a bright blue sky behind her.

Music: Deva Mahal

Toitoi – Opera House
7.30pm Thurs, October 9
$65

“She’s performed at Carnegie Hall, shared the stage with legends including Björk, Etta James and Fat Freddy’s Drop, and now internationally acclaimed Deva Mahal is bringing her powerhouse voice to Hawke’s Bay this October, for one night only.”

Ngāmotu

A promotional image for Cirque Bon Bon which shows a young woman doing a tricky circus move in which she is standing on her hands and bending her legs in front of her head – she has a bow and arrow in her feet and looks about to fire it. There are bright green letters over top.

Circus: Cirque Bon Bon

TSB Theatre, Devon St West
6pm Thurs, October 9
$42.50–$89.12

The opening night of a five-night season of circus-comedy created by former Cirque du Soleil director Ash Jacks and choreographer Julieann Nugent.

Te Waiharakeke

A photograph of a person wearing a red hooded cloak and walking through a forest.

Music: Red!

ASB Theatre Marlborough, Blenheim
2.30pm Sat, October 4
$11.20–$22.50

This one-act opera for all ages is an interactive re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood.

Ōhinehou

A poster for the band Amalgo which shows a black sketch of the four musicians with their instruments against an ochre background.

Music: Amalgo

Wunderbar, Lyttelton
8.30pm Sat, October 4
$20

Steve McGlone (mandolin/bouzouki), Tamsin Leenhouwers (fiddle), Dave Remnant (guitars) and Dan Callahan (double bass) offer a “classic-meets-contemporary” show. Amalgo will play the Christchurch Folk Club on Sunday, October 5 at 7.30pm.

Ōtepoti

A photograph of intricately carved objects that look like machine parts. They're laid on a dark background and are ivory in colour.
Liam Krijgsman, Words, For F.R. David (working image of internal components), 2025.

Workshop: Disposable Gestures – Bad Hygiene Zine Workshop

Blue Oyster Art Project Space
2pm Sat, October 4
Free (suitable for teens and adults)

Respond in zine-form to the artworks and themes in the exhibition Disposable Gestures by Priscilla Rose Howe and Liam Krijgsman. Participants will have access to paper, pens, pencils, pastels, scrap fabric and a photocopier during the workshop. Participants have the option to donate their responses to a collaborative zine, which Blue Oyster will assemble and publish late-October 2025.

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