Movies and Music in Parks arrive in Pakuranga, Henderson and Mt Wellington

Crowds have exceeded 28,000 - even before the halfway mark is reached.

By the end of summer, there will be have been 50 shows or screenings in 50 parks – all free – getting Auckland’s summer sorted.

For 40 summers Auckland Council has brought music into parks, joined by movies in more recent decades. This season Music in Parks runs every weekend until 11 April and Movies in Parks runs even longer with a top-secret smash-hit movie bringing the curtain down on 18 April.  

Children playing, family picnic banter, laughter from a photo booth replicating Hollywood film sets, crazy colourful costumes, aromas of delicious food wafting across the parks, charismatic dance moves, star-gazing from the picnic blanket – and that’s before the show even begins.

This Friday night – 21 February - Wonder Park comes to Henderson Park. The movie will take you on a magical roller-coaster ride inside the imagined animated world of an endearing, wildly creative young girl and her hilarious animal friends.

On Saturday night – 22 February – at Hamlin Park in Mt Wellington you’ll meet Dumbo, a young elephant whose oversized ears enable him to fly. He’ll delight crowds at the circus before uncovering a darker side. See how Dumbo and his friends’ story unfolds.

For the grown-ups, Lloyd Elsmore Park in Pakuranga will bring an iconic line-up - The Feelers, Jason Kerrison and Anika Moa - to the stage for The Hits Kiwi Anthems on Sunday 23 February from 2pm until 6pm. This one is not to be missed.

Pre-movie fun begins at 6.20pm and the movies grace the giant screen once the sun goes down at around 8.20pm.

All events are zero-waste, smoke-free and alcohol-free, and most films have closed captions for the Deaf community and those who are hard of hearing.