Things to do
Friday 9 October
I Spy at Toitū – Rainbow Road! Journey across the rainbow as you take on a colourful hunt across Toitū. Pick up your free trail from reception. Daily until 4 December. 10am–5pm, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum.
Dino Makerspace. Create your own dino mask or hatching dinosaur egg. Free. Daily until 9 October. 10am-4pm, Tūhura Otago Museum.
Art Making Table. Free. 10am-4:30pm, Dunedin Public Art Gallery.
Kids Go Free and School Holiday Adventures. Colouring competition, teddy bear hunt and children’s high tea. Up to 3 children free with 1 accompanying paying adult (reflects the adult ticket purchased). Daily until Sunday 11 October. 9am–5pm, Larnach Castle.
Gigs, comedy & shows
Cane & Horsehair Global Odyssey Concert. Expressive oboe and resonant strings from Mozart to now. 12:30pm, Hanover Hall.
Dolly Possum – 'Knapsack' Single Release. Free. 4pm, Relics Music.
Rhythm and Brews. 7pm, Brew Bar.
Dunedin Drag: Unleashed R18. 7pm, Ruby’s Dunedin.
Flipper Fest’26. Featuring Parallel Play, The Madelines, and The Croaks. 7:30pm, Inch Bar.
Boaz, The Alloys, Yeah, Nah, Maybe. 8pm, Dunedin Musicians Club.
House Of 2000 Miss Bitchy Album Release Party. 9pm, Pearl Diver. (DJ, electronic)
Cleos Release Celebration. With Keira Wallace and Monkey Do. 9pm, The Crown Hotel. (Country/folk, rock)
Saturday 10 October
Otago Farmers Market. Fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, eggs, baked goods, milk, cheese, nuts, honey and artisan products + freshly roasted coffee and delicious breakfast and lunch items. 8am–12:30pm, Dunedin Railway Station.
I Spy at Toitū – Rainbow Road! Journey across the rainbow as you take on a colourful hunt across Toitū. Pick up your free trail from reception. Daily until 4 December. 10am–5pm, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum.
Kids Go Free and School Holiday Adventures. Colouring competition, teddy bear hunt and children’s high tea. Up to 3 children free with 1 accompanying paying adult (reflects the adult ticket purchased). Daily until Sunday 11 October. 9am–5pm, Larnach Castle.
Art Making Table. Free. 10am-4:30pm, Dunedin Public Art Gallery.
The Vintage Roundup. Clothing & craft market. $2 entry. 11am–3pm, Port Chalmers Town Hall.
The Art of Boro. Join textile artist Pip Steel for an engaging talk exploring the history and practice of boro. Free, bookings required. 11am–12pm, Tūhura Otago Museum.
Artist Talk: Juliet Carpenter. An opening weekend talk to celebrate Juliet Carpenter's new exhibition Heaven's Blade. 11am-12pm, Dunedin Public Art Gallery.
Introduction to Boro Stitching. Explore Japanese stitch and mending techniques at your own pace in this relaxed, open studio-style session led by Pip Steel. Koha, bookings required. 1-3pm, Tūhura Otago Museum.
Gigs, comedy & shows
Flipper Fest’26. Featuring Purple Dog, Cleos, Monkey Do, and Ammonita. 1pm, Yours.
Reb Fountain – Water for Gasoline Tour. 3pm, Pearl Diver.
Urzila Carlson: Fatty On A Yacht. 7pm, Regent Theatre. (Comedy)
Bach: Mass in B Minor. City Choir Dunedin and the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra. 7:30pm, Dunedin Town Hall.
Bands for Baxter. Featuring Festering Death, Your Face, Pipe Bomb, Armadillo, Chemical Damage, and The Mindtakers. 8pm, The Crown Hotel.
Blue Heron. 8pm, Inch Bar.
Sunday 11 October
I Spy at Toitū – Rainbow Road! Journey across the rainbow as you take on a colourful hunt across Toitū. Pick up your free trail from reception. Daily until 4 December. 10am–5pm, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum.
Kids Go Free and School Holiday Adventures. Colouring competition, teddy bear hunt and children’s high tea. Up to 3 children free with 1 accompanying paying adult (reflects the adult ticket purchased). Daily until Sunday 11 October. 9am–5pm, Larnach Castle.
Art Making Table. Free. 10am-4:30pm, Dunedin Public Art Gallery.
Family Bike Day. Free activities include: bike servicing, helmet fit and safety checks, bike decorating, sausage sizzle. Weather postponement date 1 November – check DCC Facebook for updates. 10am–1pm, Marlow Park.
Dunedin Tweed Ride 2026. Don your finest tweeds, vintage attire or your best spring frock and join us for a relaxed ride from the Dunedin Gasworks Museum to beautiful Glenfalloch Gardens. $5 per rider. 10:30am–1pm, meet Dunedin Gasworks Museum.
Sashiko Stitch and Patching Workshop. Experiment with the art of decorative repair using recycled textiles in this hands-on workshop. $55, bookings required. 11am-2pm, Tūhura Otago Museum.
Gigs, comedy & shows
The Great Sunday Shindig. Featuring Whirling Eddys, Cap'n Spoonbill & The Hoiho, Mads Harrop, The Sonic Boom, GASP! Dance Collective, and Jamie-Lee. 1pm, South Dunedin Community Hall.
Big Jazz Apple. 4:30pm, Inch Bar.
Yujing Cui – Alternative Folk Live. 7:30pm, Dunedin Folk Club.
And that’s your weekend round-up. Got an event you’d like to feature? Drop me a line here → [email protected]
Thanks for reading, Emma
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