Family Garden Time

Become TimeOut Festival Garden regulars for three activity-filled weekend mornings at Family Garden Time. Listen to spellbinding storytellers and poetry artists, play giant jenga and other games, create art with Festival artists, join  LEI PLAY to enhance the Fale Ula, and discover more about the world we live in as part of our wonderful programme of fun FREE family events
Saturday's and Sunday's from 10.30am to 12.30 pm except for Family Day which goes all day! If wet we move into the Aotea Centre and keep playing!

Check out what's on below and keep visiting for updates.

Regular Events:
LEI PLAY
Held within the Fale Ula – the vibrant installation by Niki Hastings McFall which polynises Aotea Square for the duration of the Festival, LEI PLAY will give kids and adults the time and space to create with  lei petals to make beauty of their own and add to a growing public art work which will be completed on Family Day. Come and co-create with us and add your power to the flowers!

TIOKA TOI
Our garden art board is where clarity and colour merge to create patterns, pictures and stories.
Visit this space to add your line and design alongside a different Festival artist every weekend. Come and watch them at work and then join in the fun, colouring and creating to add to the garden vibe.
Arty clothing advised to keep clothes clean and mum happy.

FILMS BY YOUNG PEOPLE

Each Saturday and Sunday the Festival will screen a compilation of the winning entries from The Outlook for Someday films – an initiative that challenges children and young people to make a sustainability-related film up to five minutes long.   Each weekend the compilation has a different focus:

Saturday 7 & Sunday 8 March -  imagination and storytelling

Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 March - nature, the environment, science and biology

Sunday 21 & 22 March - humour and zaniness

To find out more about The Outlook for Someday film initiative go to www.theoutlookforsomeday.net

Special Events:
Saturday 7^th March 'THE LITTLE DAY OUT '

Tioka Toi artist -  Shane Hansen
"Where Nature & Culture Collide' We live in a beautiful land, where our culture and nature collide. It is part of who we are and how we express our uniqueness to the world. Join Shane and play with shapes and forms that celebrate cultural diversity and the love of the land we call Aotearoa.

MAGICAL MASQUERADE 10am -12pm
Come and have some magic painted on your face before your little day out in Aotea Square. There is lots to see and do!

IMAGINED WORLDS STORY TELLING Storyteller Tanya Batt and musician Craig Denham love to make 'story magic'. They specialise in the funky reworking of traditional stories  where 'Queen' meets ancient Greek mythology and words are fused with the flavours of world music.
11-12pm  Garden stage

GIANT GAMES
Courtesy of Auckland Live these larger than life activities will keep you going all day.

JAZZAMATAZZ
Bop till you drop with your kids to the fabulous sounds of Ali McGregor at her kids jazz concert!
(this is a paid show  in the Paradiso Spiegeltent in Aotea Square)
10.30 & 12.30 pm

Sunday March  8^th ' EXPRESS YOUR SELF '

Tioka Toi - Garden Artist Tracey Tawhiao joins us to share her skills.

Watch Tracey work her magic and then create your own Maori mandala straight from the heart onto a clean white circle of infinity.

LEI PLAY  Continuing the creation of a public work of art re using the petals of deconstructed lei.

WORD PLAY
This is a fun and interactive performance held by the critically acclaimed group, the South Auckland Poets Collective (SAPC) who  have performed and taught spoken word poetry both locally and internally, inspiring young people in fun and exciting ways. Join them for an hour of poetry, rhythm and storytelling. All ages welcome
11-12 pm The Garden Stage

JAZZAMATAZZ
Bop till you drop with your kids to the fabulous sounds of Ali McGregor at her kids jazz concert!
(this is a paid show in the Paradiso Spiegeltent in Aotea Square)
10.30 & 12.30 pm

Saturday March 14^th ' THINK SCIENCE MAKE ART '
LEI PLAY  Continuing the creation of a public work of art re using the petals of deconstructed lei.
TIOKA TOI Garden Artist TBC
Plus more activities to complement Think Science day - watch this space

Sunday March 15^{th  '} BALANCE IS THE BUZZ '

KAPTIVATING KORERO
Birds bees and trees are the focus today to captivate, stimulate and educate you about how we can nurture the beautiful world we live in.

Working through topics raised by Festival exhibitions Fale Ula (Niki Hastings-McFall), A Delicate Balance Rongo Taketake a Tane (curated by The Kauri Project), and ongoing art project The Park (Sarah Smuts-Kennedy and Taarati Taiaroa), along with Lyn MacDonald from the NZ Bird Rescue, Julian McCurdy from Beez Thingz and artist Charlotte Graham, the intention of this event is to increase awareness of threats facing our trees, birds and bees, and the important role we all have in protecting them and creating a nurturing environment for them to thrive.

Fun activities for kids will reiterate how these elements are intertwined and need each other to be in balance for a healthy environment including how you can contribute to the artwork The Park and receive honey at the Honey Harvest Event in April, get up close to the bees with our onsite beehive from 11.30 – 12.30

TIOKA TOI  Garden Art Board.
Enjoy watching and drawing with today’s garden artist Charlotte Graham whose beautiful native birds will complement the korero.

NEW ZEALAND YOUTH CHOIR

These young songbirds will add the human note to the garden on this day of celebrating nature in Aotearoa.
11.30 am

International storyteller,kapahaka performer and  tikanga expert, Joe Harawira, will captivate you with stories of the natural world.  11.45 am -12.30pm.

LEI PLAY Continuing the creation of a public work, making beautiful borders with petals to enhance the Fale Ula.

Saturday March 21 'GIGGLEFEST '
BOXING  Fraser Hooper.
Oh yes he is back by popular demand! This award winning clown will keep you in fits of laughter as he works the crowd with his unique blend of slapstick and old school tricks.
10.45 -11.30am Garden Stage

CLOWNING AROUND - Family Clown Workshop
Don’t let Fraser have the last laugh! Come along and learn how to be funnier than your kids! Anyone aged 5 to 95 welcome.
11.45am -12.15pm   Paradiso Speigeltent, Aotea Square

LEI PLAY Continuing the creation of a public work of art re using the petals of deconstructed lei.

TIOKA TOI Garden Art Board
Maui and the Sun

Join Michel Mulipola aka Kid Liger as he creates a mural based on the Maui and the Sun legend a well known Maori myth and a perennial favourite amongst New Zealanders.
People are encouraged to participate and collaborate in the creation of the mural and, most importantly, to have fun!

Sunday 22 March
FAMILY DAY -Click here to go to our dedicated page.