Auckland Council’s Music in Parks and Movies in Parks events for March and April have been cancelled.
It is a decision that was disappointing to make according to Auckland Councillor Alf Filipaina, Chair of the Parks, Arts, Community and Events committee.
“Aucklanders love heading to their local park for a free movie or concert. But with Omicron case numbers continuing to climb and the country still in the red traffic light setting, it was not possible to run the events. As disappointing as it is, putting the health of our communities first is our main priority.”
Music in Parks
Latest update: all live events have now been cancelled, including Opera in the Park, Open Water and Beacon in the Park
Some music events have been rescheduled for April, but the opportunities were limited with winter so close according to Councillor Filipaina.
“With the weather getting colder and rain more likely, we could only reschedule three events. Those three events are the ever-popular Opera in the Park, and two events we had partnered with Live Nation to deliver: Beacon in the Park and Open Water.”
Open Water has been rescheduled for 9 April, Opera in the Park for 10 April, and Beacon in the Park for 23 April.
There are also plans to deliver an alternative Music in Parks program that can occur under the red light settings
Councillor Filipaina says he is proud of the innovation from the events teams, who have been working hard with partner organisations to deliver this reimaged Music in Parks.
“What is coming promises to be really exciting and continues Auckland Council’s support for the music sector. I look forward to announcing this in the beginning of March.”
Movies in Parks
Latest update: all events have now been cancelled, including
The cancellations affect all Movies in Parks events across Tāmaki Makaurau up to and including 2 April.
The rescheduled Movie in Parks event for Windmill Park, Epsom is currently still scheduled to occur on Friday 8 April, subject to the alert level setting moving to either orange or green.
Councillor Filipaina praised the events teams for their efforts to deliver something for Aucklanders.
“They have worked so hard to try and deliver fantastic events for our communities. They were really looking forward to helping Aucklanders feel normal again and have a great summer. To have events affected by COVID-19 for a third year in a row is devastating.”
Councillor Filipaina says that Auckland Council delayed deciding on the March events in an effort to do everything possible to deliver the events.
“With case numbers continuing to go up we, are going to be in the red alert level setting for a while yet. Our events can go only ahead under the orange or green settings of the COVID-19 Protection Framework, so it is not safe to continue with these events this year.”
The Music in Parks events cancelled are:
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The Music in Parks events cancelled are:
- Saturday 5 March at Allenby Park, Papatoetoe
- Sunday 6 March at Monte Cecilia Park, Hillsborough
- Saturday 12 March at Pt England Reserve, Pt England
- Friday 18 March at Jack Pringle Library Green, Te Atatū Peninsula
- Saturday 2 April at Takaanini Library and Community Hub
- Saturday 9 April at Coyle Park, Pt Chevalier
- Sunday 10 April at Glover Park, St Heliers
- Saturday 23 April at Albert Park, Auckland Central
For more information on the cancellations and postponements, head to musicinparks.co.nz
The Movie in Parks events cancelled are:
- Friday 4 March at Coyle Park, Pt Chevalier
- Saturday 5 March at Barry Curtis Park, Flat Bush
- Friday 11 March at Hayman Park, Manukau
- Saturday 12 March at Clevedon Showgrounds Reserve, Clevedon
- Friday 18 March at Glover Park, St Heliers
- Friday 25 March at Randwick Park, Manurewa
- Friday 1 April at Henderson Park, Henderson
- Saturday 2 April at Point England Reserve, Point England
- Friday 8 April at Windmill Park, Epsom.
For more information on the cancellations, head to moviesinparks.co.nz
