With 37 unique and exciting events happening, next month's AROHA Festival will drag native Aucklanders out on the town to celebrate their diversity. All centred around cultural and colourful Karangahape Road, AROHA 2010 features music, dance, cabaret, burlesque, visual art, performance art, drag, films, workshops, discussions, community events, five fantastic parties – and the inaugural AROHA Lifetime Achievement Award! Aroha's full schedule of events has been revealed, its website is live, and its gorgeous 38-page printed guide is now available free from venues around K' Road and beyond. The festival opens with the premiere performance of Mika's new Tribal Pop Opera, Pō | Beautiful Darkness, on the Aotea Centre main-stage. Mika delivers ringing anthems composed by Gareth Farr and performed by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, alongside a stellar cast of local and international dancers and musicians. Housed at Galatos, the Kapai Kabaret season showcases a diverse variety of exotic and enlightening live acts. Internationally acclaimed Japanese dancer Shakti will expose her new multimedia work, Empire of the Senses. Drag-tastic songstress Miz Ima Starr dances out onto the Auckland cabaret stage after a dozen years abroad, to dish up Hello Miss American Pie! And Melbourne based singer Kerryn Fields will share the stage with Charlotte Yates and Mahina-Ina Kaui in an evening of superb female singer/songwriters. Aroha's Glam Boy Youth Showcase Other festival highlights include, the AROHA After Dark dance party at Galatos, punk-cabaret superstar Amanda Palmer at the Kings Arms, Chinese video artist Zheng Bo at Artspace, performance artist Richard Kereopa turning heads all along K' Road, the super-soulful Hymnchidivah concert at Galatos, the Kura Kōrero sharing and discussion series, and a show-stopping late-night burlesque revue hosted by hilarious Trans-Tasman drag divas, Tess Tickle and Polly Filla. The festival climaxes on Saturday 20 March with AROHA Day in Beresford Square. The free, family event featuring a wide range of personalities, musicians, drag divas and dance crews. Mika, Jan Hellriegal, Hymnchidiva and the Girls from Caluzzi and Finale restaurants are among the line-up. Find out more about Auckland's Aroha Festival on its official website, and its complete and confirmed schedule appears below. Friday 12 March Pō | Beautiful Darkness – Mika and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre – 8pm, book at THE EDGE Kura Kōrero – Māori Performance Discussion with Dr. Sharon Mazer and Te Rita Papesch Mika's set for a tribal pop opera Air New Zealand Foyer, Aotea Centre – 6pm, koha Pō After-Party Family Bar – 9.30pm, koha Saturday 13 March Shakti rero – Shakti Discussion Galatos Lounge – 6pm, koha Kings nanga – Mau Rākau Workshop with Mokoera Te Amo Mika Studios – 11am, koha Wānanga – Taonga Pūoro Workshop with Mahina-Ina Kaui Mika Studios – 1pm, koha Wānanga – Body Percussion Workshop with Alfira Mika Studios – 3pm, koha Monday 15 March Glam Boy Youth Showcase – G33K Movement, Sample Dance Crew, Divaz of La Salle… Galatos – 7pm, book at iTICKET and Rainbow Youth Kura Kōrero – Youth Culture Lunch with Jermaine Leef Alleluya Café, St Kevins Arcade – 12.30pm, koha Kura Kōrero – Rainbow Youth Discussion with Tom Hamilton Galatos Lounge – 6pm, koha CineChico Short Film Screening – An Island Calling St Kevins Arcade – 8pm, door sales only Tuesday 16 March To Beat With Her Heart – Charlotte Yates, Mahina, Kerryn Fields Galatos – 8pm, book at iTICKET, Kamo and The Women's Bookshop Kura Kōrero – Lesbian Lunch with Anne Speir Alleluya Café, St Kevins Arcade – 12.30pm, koha Kura Kōrero – Women Songwriters Discussion Galatos Lounge – 6pm, koha Wednesday 17 March Amanda Palmer Kings Arms Tavern – 8pm, book at www.undertherader.co.nz Miz Ima Starr – Hello Miss American Pie! Galatos – 8pm, book at iTICKET Kura Kōrero – Drag Lunch with Beaver Brown Alleluya Café, St Kevins Arcade – 12.30pm, koha Kura Kōrero – Drag Discussion with Charles Bracewell, Anthony Hotere and Colin McLean Galatos Lounge – 6pm, koha Tess Tickle and Polly Filla's Pop-Up Burlesque Revue Galatos – 10pm, door sales only Thursday 18 March Miz Ima Starr – Hello Miss American Pie! Galatos – 8pm, book at iTICKET Kura Kōrero – Cuban Lunch with Daniel Gallo Villalon Alleluya Café, St Kevins Arcade – 12.30, koha Tess Tickle and Polly Filla's Pop-Up Burlesque Revue Galatos – 10pm, door sales only 'Over' the Rainbow – Quay Street Social Club DJs, Boo You Whore, Disco Pauley… Whammy Bar, St Kevins Arcade – 9.30pm, door sales only Friday 19 March HYMNCHIDIVAH – Lindah E, Ramon Te Wake, Taiaroa Royal, ALLEGRO Galatos – 8pm, book at iTICKET Kura Kōrero – Pacific Peoples Lunch with Rev. Mua Strickson Pua Alleluya Café, St Kevins Arcade – 12.30pm, koha Kura Kōrero – HYMNCHIDIVAH Discussion Galatos Lounge – 6pm, koha Tess Tickle and Polly Filla's Pop-Up Burlesque Revue Galatos – 10pm, door sales only Proud Mary – DJ Bridge, Rebecca Maxine, MTron Bomb, Boy + Girl, Miss Leda Petit Rising Sun – 9pm, door sales only Saturday 20 March AROHA Day – Mika, Peta Mathias, Jan Hellriegel, Steven Gray, Caluzzi Girls, Finale Girls, Aroha Hathaway, Caitlin Smith, Miz Ima Starr, Will C Barling and DJ Stevolicious, Hymnchidivah, Jermaine Leef, Miss Ribena, Louisa Wall, DJ Geezer Guy, DJ Phoebe Falconer, DJ Samuel Holloway, Ramon Te Wake, Daren Kamali, Tess Tickle, Polly Filla, Mimi Boyz, Amanda Tepania-Ashton and Kimo Houltham, Tatiana Petites, Amanda La Whore, Kā Crew, Maihi Makiha, Lani Lopez and Timothy Giles, Rev. Mua Strickson-Pua, G33K Movement, Sample Crew, Glam Boy Entertainment, Dragon Origin, The Vixens and Karma Chaos… Beresford Square – 3pm til 9pm, koha AROHA After Dark – Soane, James Leuii, Mauri, Karl Moser, Samuel Holloway, EarCandy… Galatos – 9pm til 5am, book at iTICKET, Marvel Menswear, Urge Bar, DJ Station and Kamo Daily Visual Arts Programme Zheng Bo ARTSPACE – opening Friday 12 March, free Wonderland: The Magic of the Rose Auckland Museum – daily, door sales only Dan Taulapapa McMullin Okaioceanikart – opening Wednesday 10 March, free Richard Kereopa St Kevins Arcade and K' Road – Monday 15 til Saturday 20 March, koha Ticketing Info Kapai Kabaret and AROHA After Dark bookings through iTICKET - phone +64 9 361 1000. Door sales from 30 minutes prior to show. Pō bookings only at THE EDGE - phone +64 9 357 3355 or 0800 BUY TICKETS (289 842). Or visit the Aotea Centre Box Office. Service fee may apply. Aroha Festival - 21st February 2010