AUCKLAND MUSEUM SCHOOL HOLIDAY PROGRAMME
Sept 27-Oct 12.
The Auckland Museum has something for everyone these school holidays with programmes for children aged seven to 17. Handle real specimens, create puppets, hunt for treasure with Rajah the elephant, art craft, and try your hand at story writing and design competitions. Workshops have various prices. For full details, see www.aucklandmuseum.com

THE BRUCE MURRAY SINGERS PRESENT SINGING WITH THE STARS
Harlequin Theatre, Howick, Sept 27 7.30pm, Sept 28 2pm.
The 24 member choir revive classic Broadway and movie anthems such as Deep River, Forever Motown, Under The Boardwalk and Walt Disney’s Our Town. A pizzazz programme with multiple costumes and movement along with champion ballroom dancers to accompany the choir. Adults $18, seniors and students $15, phone 535-8701.

KIA ORANA FESTIVAL OF ARTS 2008
Mangere College, Sept 25-27, 9am-5pm.
A three day cultural fiesta, Kia Orana Festival is being staged for its ninth year. The competition includes a celebration of diverse dancing, arts and crafts, exhibitions, speech contests, drumming, food stalls and design costume making. Entry by gold coin donation.

OBJECTive ART AWARDS EXHIBITION
The Historic Nathan Homestead, Manuwera, 27 Sept-Nov 2. Weekdays 9am-5pm, weekends 1pm-4pm.
Unique pieces of art carefully brought together from a select group of object works, ranging from handmade through to high design. All works are for sale unless specified. The exhibition consists of ceramics, glass, jewellery, wood and metalwork, textiles and furniture. Free entry.

TALKING HEADS
Stables Theatre, Ellerslie, Sept 19-20 8pm, matinee Sept 20 2pm.
Three individual performances exploring three unique stories. Talking Heads is an Alan Bennett award winning work. Each story is told through one actor per act: a busybody, an aging mother reigniting an old flame, and a vicar’s wife finds happiness in an Indian shop owner. Tickets: $20 adults, phone 525-3336.

HOME FREE
Te Puru Community Centre, Sept 19-20 7.30pm, Sept 21 3pm.
Join the journey with more than 80 pupils from Beachlands and Maraetai schools performing an environmental themed concert as part of the Big Tree@Te Puru Festival. The story follows a family of tui searching for a new home, encountering ecological issues along their travels. Composer/writer Anna Rugis is joined by Beachlands/Maraetai students as cast members. Tickets: $10 adults, $5 children, matinee $5, phone 536-5360.

PAGEANT 2008
TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre, Sept 20 8pm.
It’s the third Miss Chinese New Zealand beauty pageant. Organisers say there’ll be more gowns, glamour and girls this year. Entertainment, elegance and art mixed into one of the largest beauty shows in the country. Various ticket prices. See www.ticketdirect.co.nz.

ECO - ARTS FESTIVAL
Te Puru Community Centre, Sept 20 starting 10am.
A mammoth day of music kicks off mid-morning. See an eclectic range of artists joining the Te Puru Festival. From interactive performances for children such as Starfish Magic (that fuses live music, song, dance, storytelling and magic tricks) through to funk, gospel and smooth jazz tunes from south Auckland based band Aramis. Plus a performance integrating Maori, Pacific and Celtic musical influences from Pacific Curls. Free entry.

MISS CHINESE NEW ZEALAND LAUGHING SAMOANS
TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre, Sept 19 8pm.
Two of the funniest men in New Zealand, the Laughing Samoans are the hilarious duo Eteuati Ete and Tofiga Fepulea’i. They present Old School, which will see the return of much loved characters and some new faces in skits making comedy of Samoans coming to terms with Kiwi culture and the English language. Various ticket prices. See www.ticketdirect.co.nz, or phone 0800-224-224.

EVERYTHING AND NO THING
Sanderson Contemporary Art, 251 Parnell Rd, September 17-October 5.
Linda Holloway’s paintings work with a personal language of form and sense of deep space in which organic and abstract forms expose different textures and aspects of process. Free entry.

CRAWLED OUT OF THE WOODWORK
Uxbridge Art Gallery, Uxbridge Rd, Howick, To Sept 16.
Nine wooden sculpture artists present work in a variety of woods, textures and forms. Free entry.

SKIN GRAFT
Fresh Gallery Otara, Otara Town Centre, September 5-27.
Samoan abstract painters Schaeffer Lemalu, Salesa Pepe and Nathan Suniula explore the medium of painting and how it reinvents itself. Free entry. Phone 274-6400 for opening hours.

WRITERS FESTIVAL 2008
Waitakere City. August-September
A range of word-based events including a literary weekend with writers and performers from around the country, a theatre season, poetry slam, writers in schools programme, and Storyfest, the free family day. See www.goingwest.co.nz.

UXBRIDGE EXHIBITIONS
Uxbridge Arts Centre, Howick, August 29-September 16.
Crawled out of the Woodwork: Celebrating wooden sculpture for its artistic nature rather than its functionality, by nine local award-winning sculptors. See What I Mean: ‘Insider art’ from Dept of Corrections students studying toward a Diploma in Art and Creativity. It provides a rare opportunity to view some of the diverse art emerging from local Corrections facilities. Free.

ENCOMPASS AUCKLAND
Auckland Museum, Pictorial Gallery 2nd floor, Most Sunday afternoons, 2pm.
A panoramic view of Auckland, seen through the photography collections of the museum. Designed around the compass points of the region. Visitors can also go up to the dome.

THE ALUMNI: PETER STICHBURY
Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, Pakuranga. Until September 21
Auckland artist Peter Stichbury’s seductive paintings on the world of popular culture. This is the first major public gallery exhibition highlighting Stichbury’s work to date. His exaggerated renditions draw directly from the commercial imagery of advertising and celebrity.

TRAINING GROUND
Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, 13 Reeves Rd Pakuranga.
Dutch artist Aernout Mik’s new video wall at the gallery deals with border crossings and detentions.

ARTS IN THE CITY CATALOGUE
Manukau City Council’s free Arts in the City Term 3 and 4 catalogue, a guide to citywide events, is now available from Manukau arts centres and libraries. A range of activities from exhibitions by emerging artists, to fashion awards, drama and dance classes are available.

SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS HALL
Auckland War Memorial Museum, From July 12.
Auckland Museum is opening its ‘never been seen’ collection, as many of the almost four million objects in the total collection have never been viewed by the public and have recently come back to the museum. The exhibition will reveal many exceptional items the museum has had in storage.

FO GUANG YUAN ART GALLERY
Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple, corner of Stancombe and Chapel Rds, Tuesday to Sunday, 9am-5pm.
A selection of highly crafted Buddhist sculpture and Chinese calligraphy on display at the temple. Phone 274-4880.

TE PAPA ONLINE
www.collections.tepapa.govt.nz
The full catalogue of the national art collection and Te Papa’s history, Pacific cultures and other collections moves online. 25,000-plus high-quality images, allowing the online visitor to explore the detail of an artwork or specimen.

FOOTPRINTS OF MANUKAU
Online exhibition for Auckland Festival of Photography: www.manukau-libraries.govt.nz.
A selection of historic photographs from the Manukau Libraries’ collection. The exhibition is an evolving one and residents are invited to submit images for possible future inclusion.

JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH & PUMPHOUSE BEAM ENGINE
MOTAT main entrance, Great North Road, Western Springs.
New Voyager I show: an animated roller coaster ride into the depths of the earth in Motat’s virtual reality simulator. Also, Motat’s  131-year-old steam-powered Pumphouse Beam Engine has been fully restored. Included in Motat entry fee. Phone 0800 MOTAT NZ (0800-668-286).

EARTH MATTERS
New Gallery, Lower Level, Wellesley & Lorne Sts, Auckland City, Until September 28. Work by artists who make reference to themes of global and environmental concern. It explores how we respond to our environment with available technologies. Adults $7, children free.

NZ DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre, Great South Rd. Friday and Saturday, 7pm.
Hip hop urban street dance for young people. Friday Auckland finals, Saturday national finals. Book TicketDirect, phone 0800-224-224.