August sees an array of new cultural, musical and sporting events coming to the vibrant city of Auckland. This gives visitors the chance to see national and international performances and take advantage of some of the many high quality bars and restaurants that the city has to offer.
There are plenty of music events on offer. The 5th August sees a three week run of the popular West End musical Grease at The Civic theatre in downtown Auckland featuring a stellar international cast. Whilst on 6th August Westpac Opera in Concert introduce Elektra, Richard Strauss' powerful recounting of the ancient Greek drama at Auckland Town Hall performed by Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. ASB theatre on 7th and 8th of the month plays host to The World of Rodgers & Hammerstein, featuring more than twenty of their songs . The most popular composers of their time, between 1941-1959, Rodgers & Hammerstein wrote five world famous musicals, Oklahoma!, Carousel, The King and I, The Sound of Music and South Pacific.
If contemporary music is more your style, The Temper Trap play The Powerstation on 1st August and Thirty Seconds to Mars play at the Logan Campbell Centre on 3rd August. NZ Trio at the Auckland Museum features a collaboration between violinist Justine Cormack, cellist Ashley Brown and pianist Sarah Watkins on 28th August whilst Waiheke Island showcases its annual Winter Blues Festival on 28/29th August with a great line up of New Zealand blues bands.
For foodlovers the 29th July-1st August sees The Food Show return to ASB Showgrounds. This showcases gourmet food from top local and international chefs. The event will feature demonstrations by chefs in the Electrolux Cooking Theatre and exhibitors sampling and selling the best food and wine. World famous chef, Rick Stein, visits the city on Rick Stein's Food Odyssey tour on 4th & 5th August at the ASB Theatre. The show gives audiences the opportunity to see a master in action as he and guest chefs prepare an array of dishes interspersed with stories and footage from his TV series.
August sees the Auckland based rugby league team, Vodafone Warriors, play three matches against their rivals. The 1st August sees them host the Gold Coast Titans and later in the month they play the Newcastle Knights and the Brisbane Broncos (dates to be announced) at their home stadium at Mount Smart. The biggest names in World Wrestling Entertainment will wow audiences when WWE Smackdown ECW Live 2010 comes to Vector Arena on 5th August.
Exhibitions on offer this month include Sir Edmund Hillary and the New Zealand Antartica Expedition 1956-58 on until 31st December at Motat Transport Museum and Auckland Museum exhibits the life of botanist Lucy Cranwell in A Walk on the Wild Side until 1st December.
Enjoy August in Auckland!