Unst Family History – A One-Place Study with Guest Speaker Morag Hughson

Family history enthusiast Morag Hughson joins us on the opening weekend of Te Ao Mārama – Tauranga Library & Community Hub to talk about her “one-place study” of Unst, Scotland. By expanding beyond her family tree, to research the branches of the whole of the island of Unst, Morag developed a unique perspective of the island by uncovering patterns that would not be obvious to someone only researching their own branch.

Creedence Clearwater Collective 2026

Presented by Carter Entertainment You're invited to a night of Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty, as we celebrate the music of one of the world’s most iconic bands – from the songs they wrote, to the songs covered, to the songs they wrote for others. From their album debut in 1968 to their last album in 1972, CCR was a juggernaut of phenomenal proportions. No other band has created such an impact in such a short time.

Tumble Time - Haumaru

BayActive has plenty of fun lined up to keep your preschool children aged 0–5 years active and entertained with Tumble Time at The University of Waikato Haumaru Sport & Recreation Centre! Have fun with moon hoppers, scooters, trikes, bikes, balls, balancing and gymnastic equipment, mega blocks, Little Tikes cars and much more. Tumble Time is designed to develop children's physical skills of balance, co-ordination, climbing, agility and fine motor skills. As this is a group environment, children also have the chance to develop their social skills as well as being a fantastic opportunity for parents to meet new friends too! No booking is required. Lock in the date and come along with your little one to get socialising at this fun and stimulating preschool playgroup!

Kawhe Whawhe

Nau kake mai, nau haere mai ki te Kawhe-whawhe! He reo Māori tāu? Kei te kimi koe I tētahi wahi anō ki te kōrero Māori? Koinei te kauapa tika māu!

Digital Drop-in: Tauranga

Have you got a digital dilemma? Having trouble with your mobile phone, email or other technology? Come along to one of our weekly Digital Drop-in sessions for some friendly help. Bring in your device for help with basic trouble shooting, email queries, navigating the internet, downloading apps and accessibility features.

Mount Maunganui College Arts Awards 2026

A Mount Maunganui College Awards evening spectacular! The show includes all of the best performances from 2026, including: Kapa Haka

Wild City Trail

Calling all explorers! Are you ready for an adventure? Nine local animals are hiding around Grey Street and they’re waiting for you to find them all! Grab a pencil, print the activity sheet and set off on a fun family trail through the city centre.

Tumble Time - Haumaru

BayActive has plenty of fun lined up to keep your preschool children aged 0–5 years active and entertained with Tumble Time at The University of Waikato Haumaru Sport & Recreation Centre! Have fun with moon hoppers, scooters, trikes, bikes, balls, balancing and gymnastic equipment, mega blocks, Little Tikes cars and much more. Tumble Time is designed to develop children's physical skills of balance, co-ordination, climbing, agility and fine motor skills. As this is a group environment, children also have the chance to develop their social skills as well as being a fantastic opportunity for parents to meet new friends too! No booking is required. Lock in the date and come along with your little one to get socialising at this fun and stimulating preschool playgroup!

Book Chat at Tauranga Library

Discover new parts of your Library with monthly themes and enjoy the company of our friendly group. For more information email library@tauranga.govt.nz Monthly themes:

Book Chat at Tauranga Library

Discover new parts of your Library with monthly themes and enjoy the company of our friendly group. For more information email library@tauranga.govt.nz Monthly themes:

Motifs of Mana - Niuean Iconography

Celebrate Niue Language Week and explore the rich traditions, stories, patterns, and cultural meanings behind hiapo. In this interactive workshop Iata explores the unique motifs and imagery of hiapo, (bark cloth of Niue.) Each participant will learn the historical context of this practice, the social impact of hiapo and the rapid decline and use due to the arrival and influence of the Europeans. Participants will learn the symbolic representations of up to 40 different designs and be able to hand draw their own ‘hiapo inspired’ creation onto a hiapo piece provided by the workshop.

Macy Gray Live

Following her sensational sold-out 2024 tour, Macy Gray returns for her largest ever tour of Australia and New Zealand - and this time, Tauranga Arts Festival is proudly part of the journey. This is not just a concert tour - Macy Gray Live is a festival of soul. With over 25 million records sold worldwide, a Grammy Award, two BRIT Awards, and 10 studio albums spanning more than two decades, Macy Gray is one of the greatest R&B and soul artists of her generation - and Australia and New Zealand loved her first. I Try went straight to number one, while On How Life spent 44 weeks on the New Zealand Albums Chart - a long time before America fully caught on. Nobody puts on a show like Macy Gray. Expect a celebration of her chart-topping hits including I Try, Still, Do Something, Sexual Revolution, Sweet Baby, and so much more, plus her brand new single - the classic I'm Too Sexy from the upcoming album The Trouble with the Truth.

Spritz Friday - Trinity Wharf Tauranga

Golden hour on the deck plus your favourite spritz in hand equals the perfect Friday. Join us as Spritz Fridays return to Trinity Wharf this October! Enjoy live music, waterfront views, bar snacks available, and a full menu of delicious spritzes to choose from including the iconic Aperol. See you there!

Machine de Cirque

Somersaulting in from Québec, Canada, are five internationally acclaimed contemporary circus performers for the premiere of their Aotearoa, New Zealand season. Their family friendly show follows the performers as they find themselves alone in an uncertain world, trying to contact other survivors with the help of a strange machine. Reckless, touching and comical, these five wacky characters share a contagious bond. They masterfully handle a teeterboard, juggling clubs, a drum kit and even a bath towel! Machine de Cirque blends their ingenious and deeply human storytelling with acts that dazzle the mind, touch the heart and move the spirit. Prices

Filament

A light installation that will absorb and awe you. A dense field of black fibreglass rods forms a quiet, gridded volume activated by laser light and spatial sound. As beams cut through the structure, they catch on thousands of fine surfaces, revealing shifting planes, flickers, and moments of interference that feel both digital and organic. The rigid geometry begins to dissolve, appearing to ripple, breathe, and reconfigure in real time. With an enveloping surround soundscape, Filament becomes an immersive field rather than a fixed object, drawing audiences into a space where light behaves like a material and structure becomes atmosphere. It explores the tension between order and emergence, transforming a precise matrix into something soft, unstable, and quietly alive.

Pocket Size Play - Halloween Trail

Pocket size play is back! We’re back and what better way to celebrate than with a mini Halloween Trail! This time, we’re heading to our new home at the brand-new Library & Community Hub at Te Manawataki o Te Papa!

Opus Pocket Orchestra

Opus Pocket Orchestra and Tauranga Arts Festival are joining forces to bring live music into the heart of the community, with a special focus on little listeners. These free 30-minute concerts are designed especially for tamariki aged 2–6 and their whānau, offering a joyful, interactive introduction to orchestral music. Held at Tauranga City Libraries, each performance blends storytelling, movement, and song with plenty of chances for children to clap, dance, and get up close to the instruments. There are no tickets, no concert hall rules - just a warm, welcoming space to explore music and imagination together. Come and discover how amazing classical music can be when it’s pocket-sized.

Machine de Cirque

Somersaulting in from Québec, Canada, are five internationally acclaimed contemporary circus performers for the premiere of their Aotearoa, New Zealand season. Their family friendly show follows the performers as they find themselves alone in an uncertain world, trying to contact other survivors with the help of a strange machine. Reckless, touching and comical, these five wacky characters share a contagious bond. They masterfully handle a teeterboard, juggling clubs, a drum kit and even a bath towel! Machine de Cirque blends their ingenious and deeply human storytelling with acts that dazzle the mind, touch the heart and move the spirit. Prices

Filament

A light installation that will absorb and awe you. A dense field of black fibreglass rods forms a quiet, gridded volume activated by laser light and spatial sound. As beams cut through the structure, they catch on thousands of fine surfaces, revealing shifting planes, flickers, and moments of interference that feel both digital and organic. The rigid geometry begins to dissolve, appearing to ripple, breathe, and reconfigure in real time. With an enveloping surround soundscape, Filament becomes an immersive field rather than a fixed object, drawing audiences into a space where light behaves like a material and structure becomes atmosphere. It explores the tension between order and emergence, transforming a precise matrix into something soft, unstable, and quietly alive.

Machine de Cirque

Somersaulting in from Québec, Canada, are five internationally acclaimed contemporary circus performers for the premiere of their Aotearoa, New Zealand season. Their family friendly show follows the performers as they find themselves alone in an uncertain world, trying to contact other survivors with the help of a strange machine. Reckless, touching and comical, these five wacky characters share a contagious bond. They masterfully handle a teeterboard, juggling clubs, a drum kit and even a bath towel! Machine de Cirque blends their ingenious and deeply human storytelling with acts that dazzle the mind, touch the heart and move the spirit. Prices

Sunday Board Games Group

Play, connect and have fun! *Please note the 27 Sep and 11 Oct sessions will be held at Greerton library. Looking for a fun way to spend Sunday? Come along to our board games session. Whether you’re looking for players to join your game or a game to join, there’s something for every type of player.

Machine de Cirque

Somersaulting in from Québec, Canada, are five internationally acclaimed contemporary circus performers for the premiere of their Aotearoa, New Zealand season. Their family friendly show follows the performers as they find themselves alone in an uncertain world, trying to contact other survivors with the help of a strange machine. Reckless, touching and comical, these five wacky characters share a contagious bond. They masterfully handle a teeterboard, juggling clubs, a drum kit and even a bath towel! Machine de Cirque blends their ingenious and deeply human storytelling with acts that dazzle the mind, touch the heart and move the spirit. Prices

Elektrophoria - Tauranga Waterfront

Elektrophoria – Tauranga Waterfront Elektrophoria is a boutique electronic music festival created by Euphoria Events, bringing together electronic music, high-quality production and a unique outdoor atmosphere in the heart of Tauranga. This edition marks an exciting new chapter for Elektrophoria as the event moves to Tauranga Waterfront, creating our biggest and most ambitious boutique festival experience to date.

Paris in the Rain

Premiering here in Tauranga, Paris in the Rain is an hour-long piano-plus-electronic performance by New Zealand icon Michael Houstoun. He performs beloved French piano music set in an ephemeral, dream-like ambience, surrounded by the audience. This intimate music has been curated and sensitively immersed in glowing sonic landscapes by Ambient Ousia, the ongoing musical partnership of Jack Hooker and John Psathas. Pieces include Debussy's Clair

Paris in the Rain

Premiering here in Tauranga, Paris in the Rain is an hour-long piano-plus-electronic performance by New Zealand icon Michael Houstoun. He performs beloved French piano music set in an ephemeral, dream-like ambience, surrounded by the audience. This intimate music has been curated and sensitively immersed in glowing sonic landscapes by Ambient Ousia, the ongoing musical partnership of Jack Hooker and John Psathas. Pieces include Debussy's Clair

Filament

A light installation that will absorb and awe you. A dense field of black fibreglass rods forms a quiet, gridded volume activated by laser light and spatial sound. As beams cut through the structure, they catch on thousands of fine surfaces, revealing shifting planes, flickers, and moments of interference that feel both digital and organic. The rigid geometry begins to dissolve, appearing to ripple, breathe, and reconfigure in real time. With an enveloping surround soundscape, Filament becomes an immersive field rather than a fixed object, drawing audiences into a space where light behaves like a material and structure becomes atmosphere. It explores the tension between order and emergence, transforming a precise matrix into something soft, unstable, and quietly alive.

The Valentina

Recommended ages 8 - 12 years The Rebel Alliance Presents: The Valentina. A live radio play. With pictures! A gorgeous interstellar adventure for anyone who’s looked to the stars and imagined the cosmos.

Filament

A light installation that will absorb and awe you. A dense field of black fibreglass rods forms a quiet, gridded volume activated by laser light and spatial sound. As beams cut through the structure, they catch on thousands of fine surfaces, revealing shifting planes, flickers, and moments of interference that feel both digital and organic. The rigid geometry begins to dissolve, appearing to ripple, breathe, and reconfigure in real time. With an enveloping surround soundscape, Filament becomes an immersive field rather than a fixed object, drawing audiences into a space where light behaves like a material and structure becomes atmosphere. It explores the tension between order and emergence, transforming a precise matrix into something soft, unstable, and quietly alive.

Bob Marley – How Reggae Changed the World

Award-winning artist Duane Forrest expertly blends Bob Marley’s music with powerful storytelling in a captivating, heartfelt celebration of identity, love, and the healing rhythm of reggae. From Off Broadway to a sell-out Edinburgh Fringe, Duane Forrest takes audiences on an uplifting, deeply human journey through the music and legacy of global phenomenon Bob Marley. Blending soulful renditions of Marley’s classics with heartfelt stories of identity, ancestry & rediscovery, Forrest explores how reggae became a rhythm of unity, resistance & healing. Raised in Toronto by Jamaican parents, wrestling with identity, colorism, and cultural disconnection, he reflects on finding belonging through Marley’s message - reminding us that, in the end, every little thing is gonna be alright. Uplifting, personal, unforgettable and captivating.

Filament

A light installation that will absorb and awe you. A dense field of black fibreglass rods forms a quiet, gridded volume activated by laser light and spatial sound. As beams cut through the structure, they catch on thousands of fine surfaces, revealing shifting planes, flickers, and moments of interference that feel both digital and organic. The rigid geometry begins to dissolve, appearing to ripple, breathe, and reconfigure in real time. With an enveloping surround soundscape, Filament becomes an immersive field rather than a fixed object, drawing audiences into a space where light behaves like a material and structure becomes atmosphere. It explores the tension between order and emergence, transforming a precise matrix into something soft, unstable, and quietly alive.

Tāne Rore

Bold. Bilingual. Beautifully Māori. An extraordinary theatrical experience that will shimmer in your bones and ignite the fire within. Tāne Rore is a critically acclaimed bilingual theatre work inspired by the Māori atua of performing arts that weaves together haka, waiata, poetry, movement and heartfelt storytelling in a theatrical experience unlike any other.

Wild City Trail

Calling all explorers! Are you ready for an adventure? Nine local animals are hiding around Grey Street and they’re waiting for you to find them all! Grab a pencil, print the activity sheet and set off on a fun family trail through the city centre.

Tumble Time - Haumaru

BayActive has plenty of fun lined up to keep your preschool children aged 0–5 years active and entertained with Tumble Time at The University of Waikato Haumaru Sport & Recreation Centre! Have fun with moon hoppers, scooters, trikes, bikes, balls, balancing and gymnastic equipment, mega blocks, Little Tikes cars and much more. Tumble Time is designed to develop children's physical skills of balance, co-ordination, climbing, agility and fine motor skills. As this is a group environment, children also have the chance to develop their social skills as well as being a fantastic opportunity for parents to meet new friends too! No booking is required. Lock in the date and come along with your little one to get socialising at this fun and stimulating preschool playgroup!