The Spinoff’s top pick of events from around the motu. Here’s the best for the week February 12–19.
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.
Tāmaki Makaurau
Pride: Auckland Pride 2026
Multiple locations
February 1 – March 1
Free & ticketed
We are halfway through Pride month and there are still an astonishing array of beautiful events to take part in. See the full programme online here.
Ngāmotu
Music: Hayden Chisholm and Unwind
4th Wall Theatre, Baring Terrace
7.30pm Fri, February 13
$40
“Saxophonist Hayden Chisholm – originally from Taranaki but resident in Europe for more than 30 years – formed Unwind with local musicians Paul Dyne and Norman Meehan in 2012. Performing music that knows a lot about jazz but is unafraid of folk and chamber music traditions, they play melodic, contrapuntal music characterised by a beautiful group sound and a great deal of space.” For this show, the musicians will be joined by vocalist Laura Nottingham.
Te Whanganui-a-Tara
Science/ecology: Dragonflies are amazing and important – why?
The Garden Room, St Peter’s on Willis St
6.30pm Thurs, February 19
Free
Dragonfly experts present on Aotearoa’s dragonfly health and why the creatures are now understood to be a keystone indicator for ecological health. Presented by Forest & Bird.
Visual art: Michaelangelo – a different view
Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre
On until February 22
$45 (free for children under 12)
See the Sistine Chapel frescoes up close.
Ōtautahi
Art/ecology: Sea Signals
Various locations across Christchurch
On until Weds, February 18
Free
“Sea Signals will transform Christchurch with powerful large scale murals that connect ocean conservation, contemporary art, and research in the public realm. Presented by PangeaSeed, Flare Ōtautahi Street Art Festival, and Watch This Space, this new public art project brings together an incredible international and local lineup of artists responding to the ocean as a living, communicating system.”
Ōtepoti
Festival: Dunedin Chinese Cultural Festival
Multiple venues
Sunday February 15 – Tuesday March 3
Free
“Each year, Dunedin comes alive with colour, culture, and celebration for the Dunedin Chinese Cultural Festival – our city’s signature Lunar New Year event. Rooted in tradition and proudly hosted in partnership with Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden, the festival is a vibrant blend of heritage and contemporary creativity. With performances, workshops, installations, and community activations, it’s a unique opportunity to experience Chinese culture through a distinctly Dunedin lens.” Full programme of events online here.
Waihōpai
Music: Baroque Unbound
St Mary’s Basilica, Invercargill
7pm Fri, February 13
$5–$49
“Step into the vivid sound world of the Baroque with an evening of colour, contrast, and expressive storytelling, performed on authentic period instruments in acoustically beautiful venues.”
