Local Events & Activities in the North Shore, updated weekly!

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North Shore Marathon Sunday 6 September. Starts and finishes at Milford Reserve. Full marathon, half, quarter (10.5km), 5km and a kids’ mile. The 21.1km circuit runs through Takapuna, Narrow Neck and Cheltenham beaches, then the DOC Tunnels Loop around Maungauika / North Head. Free to spectate, and North Head is the best vantage point on the course. https://www.runningcalendar.co.nz/event/north-shore-marathon/

North Harbour v Northland, Bunnings NPC Saturday 6 September, 5.05pm, North Harbour Stadium, Stadium Drive, Albany. Closest professional sport to Albany by a wide margin. NPC tickets are usually the cheapest live sport going. https://www.harbourrugby.co.nz/

Neverland Extend Showcase Sunday 27 September, 6.30pm, Bruce Mason Centre, The Promenade, Takapuna. https://www.ticketmaster.co.nz/bruce-mason-centre-tickets-takapuna-beach/venue/295153

Auckland Heritage Festival on the Shore 26 September to 11 October. Devonport, Takapuna and Birkenhead always carry a decent share of the programme given the naval and industrial history out here. Full programme drops closer to the date. https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/heritage-festival/

BNZ Breakers at Eventfinda Stadium Three games back at their old North Shore home this season, alongside 11 at Spark Arena. Dates are on the club schedule. Eventfinda Stadium is Argus Place, Wairau Valley. https://www.nzbreakers.basketball/

Weekly

Takapuna Beach Sunday Market Every Sunday, 7am to 12pm, Waiwharariki Anzac Square, 38 Hurstmere Road. Note the venue: it now runs off the square rather than the old beach car park. Produce, food stalls, crafts. The biggest regular market on the Shore.

Browns Bay Sunday Market Every Sunday from 6am, 27/29 Anzac Road, Browns Bay. Smaller and more second-hand and bric-a-brac than Takapuna. Proceeds go to Browns Bay Coastguard. Reviews are mixed, so go for the hunt rather than the produce.

Free, any day

Torpedo Bay Navy Museum, 64 King Edward Parade, Devonport. Open daily 10am to 5pm. Confirm current entry cost, it has historically been free.

DEPOT (Depot Artspace), 28 Clarence Street, Devonport. Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm. Community gallery with rotating local shows.

Lake House Arts Centre, 37 Fred Thomas Drive, Takapuna. Rotating exhibitions of local and emerging artists, outdoor sculpture, cafe. Weekends 10am to 3pm.

Chelsea Estate Heritage Park, Colonial Road, Birkenhead. Open 24 hours, free. Bush and coastal loop tracks with harbour and bridge views. Sugar factory tours run separately at around $10.

What’s on in Wider Auckland: September 2026 (and into October)

Compiled 25 August 2026. Term 3 ends Friday 25 September. Spring school holidays run Saturday 26 September to Sunday 11 October.

Free

Auckland Art Gallery: everything is free again Forever Tomorrow closed on 23 August, and it was the only ticketed show. All 11 current exhibitions are now free entry. Standouts:

et al. | the fundamental practice, 8 Aug to 15 Nov. First showing since its 2005 Venice Biennale debut. Computer-generated sound and movement, Level 2.
Pat Hanly Creativity Awards student exhibition, 8 Aug to 13 Sep. Secondary student work. Closes mid-month.
Giacometti without End, until 16 Jan 2028.
Ngā Taonga Tūturu: Treasured Māori Portraits, until 29 Nov.
Eternity: Tianlongshan Grottoes Bodhisattva, Winged Victory of Samothrace, until 23 Nov.
Threads of Time: Travel, Trade & Textiles, until 15 Nov 2027.

Cnr Wellesley St East and Kitchener St. Open 10am to 5pm daily. https://www.aucklandartgallery.com/visit/exhibitions

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Monday 14 to Sunday 20 September. 2026 theme is Ake, Ake, Ake: A Forever Language, with a Te Reo Towns focus on communities that have kept the language going. Events across the city all week. https://en.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/te-wiki-2026

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Hīkoi Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, Auckland Art Gallery. A 75-minute guided walk starting in the gallery foyer, following the buried path of the Waihorotiu stream down the Queen Street gully to Takutai Square. Free, but booking is essential and it fills. https://www.aucklandartgallery.com/visit/events/te-wiki-o-te-reo-maori-hikoi

Kōanga Festival | Te Ahurei Whakaari o Kōanga 10 to 20 September, Te Pou Theatre, 2 Mount Lebanon Lane, Henderson. Twelfth year. Ten days of Māori storytelling: opera and waiata opening night, a free whānau day, a writing workshop, bilingual theatre, a musical comedy. Mostly free, some ticketed. https://www.koangafestival.nz/

Auckland Heritage Festival Saturday 26 September to Sunday 11 October. This year’s theme is Tastes of Tāmaki: A Heritage Feast, so expect food history alongside the usual building tours. Over 100 events, most free or low cost, and it lands squarely in the school holidays. Programme goes live closer to the date. https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/heritage-festival/

Britomart Saturday Market Every Saturday, Takutai Square. Free to wander. https://heartofthecity.co.nz/auckland-events

Music and gigs

Ashnikko: Smoochies Tour Wednesday 16 September, Auckland Town Hall Great Hall. $99.90 GA. All ages, every attendee needs a ticket, under-14s must have a caregiver with them. This is the tour opener before the Australian leg. https://www.aucklandlive.co.nz/show/ashnikko

Shinedown & Bush Thursday 17 September, Spark Arena, 6pm.

The Rock 2000 Live with The Living End Friday 25 September, Spark Arena, 3pm start.

Conan Gray: Wishbone World Tour Saturday 26 September, Spark Arena, 7pm.

Jason Derulo Sunday 27 September, Spark Arena, 7pm.

Full Spark Arena calendar: https://www.ticketmaster.co.nz/spark-arena-tickets-auckland/venue/294951

Smaller rooms worth checking Avatar at The Powerstation (1 Sep), Xile & Zuko (4 Sep), Bass Borne (5 Sep). The Undertheradar gig guide is better than the aggregators for anything under 500 capacity, and it flags all-ages shows. https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/gigs/Auckland

Sport

BNZ Breakers season opener Sunday 20 September, Spark Arena, vs Illawarra Hawks. Opening weekend of a 21-round, 165-game NBL season. First game under new coach Gordon Herbert, who came in from the Canadian national team. Eleven home games at Spark Arena this season, plus three back at Eventfinda Stadium on the Shore. https://www.nzbreakers.basketball/

NPC rugby at Eden Park Auckland home games Saturday 12 September and Friday 25 September, plus community events on 6 and 27 September. https://edenpark.co.nz/events/

Theatre and performance

Cirque Alice Runs until 6 September at The Civic, cnr Queen and Wellesley St West. $55 to $119. Last week. https://www.aucklandlive.co.nz/show/cirque-alice

We The Young 25 September to 11 October, venues across the city. Two weeks, 25-plus shows, built for the school holidays. Skews young (light installations, puppetry, circus, cardboard construction) so read it as a family festival rather than a teen one. Mostly free. https://www.aucklandlive.co.nz/event/we-the-young

Just past September

Noah Kahan: The Great Divide Tour, 10 October, Spark Arena
YMCĀ (Oli Mathiesen, part of Tempo Dance Festival), 13 and 14 October, Q Theatre Rangatira, $35 to $59
Lily Allen performs West End Girl, 21 October, Spark Arena
5 Seconds of Summer, 24 October, Spark Arena, all ages
Zara Larsson, 26 October, Spark Arena
BNZ Auckland Diwali Festival, 31 October to 1 November, Aotea Square, free
Charlie Puth, 5 November, Spark Arena
Iron Maiden with Megadeth, 7 November, Spark Arena
Laneway Festival 2027 lineup, late September announcement for the 21 February Western Springs date