MUSIC
While the Finn brothers, Dave Dobbyn and Don McGlashan will all be serenading us across the water down at Queens Wharf on Friday eve, there's actually a huge amount of local musical talent to be consumed over coming weeks.
On Monday there's probably one of the best-value gigs ever (it's free!), also down at The Cloud on Queens Wharf. The Going Global Music Summit will start at 12.30pm with international delegates from Britain and the United States presenting wide-ranging panel discussions on everything from how the internet and new media impact on the music industry to the radio environment in Britain.
Following the serious stuff will be performances from an epic local line-up of fresh talent, which will run until 10.30pm. Bands include Collapsing Cities, The Sami Sisters, Zowie, The Vietnam War, Ghost Wave, Bang Bang Eche!, The Stereo Bus, Seth Haapu, The Transistors and Computers Want Me Dead.
TV
Well, maybe you've heard, but there is a lot of rugby on ... even Shortland Street is getting in on the action, when Keven Mealamu, Jerome Kaino and Anthony Boric stop off at the hospital on Friday evening's episode.
But outside the sports viewing, there's a new food show on TV One hosted by Al Brown that looks mighty tasty. He travels around the country in a beat-up ol' pick-up truck, flashed-up to include a mobile kitchen so he can whip up truly local dishes.
There will also be extended coverage of the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, our pick being 9/11: 10 Years Later, 8.30pm on Prime on Sunday.
For something a little lighter, try Grey's Anatomy on Tuesday, when the cast will be performing a musical episode.
MOVIES
If you're into your sport, but want a break from the rugby for a couple of hours, Fire in Babylon arrives on screens this week.
A documentary about the glory and heyday of the 1970s and 80s West Indies cricket side under the leadership of Clive Lloyd, it celebrates their triumphant achievements in the sporting arena, as well as their influence on black politics and culture.
Made up of match footage and candid interviews with star performers Viv Richards, Colin Croft, Andy Roberts, and Lloyd himself, director Stevan Riley takes the film beyond cricket to examine how this extraordinary team managed to overcome prejudice in a time of international racial tension, the Windies proving they could beat their colonial masters at their own game.
Also tackling racial tensions this week is The Bang Bang Club (with Ryan Phillippe and Malin Akerman), a film depicting the true story of four combat photographers in South Africa, caught up in the brutality wrought by the end of apartheid and also the effects of famine in Sudan in the early 1990s.
OR...
To add a cultural twist to all your rugby viewing, head along to the free exhibition in the Tamaki Gallery at Auckland Museum called Ake Ake Kia Kaha: The Spirit of Maori Rugby, and acquire some insight into the importance of rugby in Maori culture.
It combines exclusive personal interviews with NZ Maori players such as Hosea Gear, Buck Shelford, Muru Walters and Tane Norton, with objects significant to Maori rugby history including a 1924 Invincibles' souvenir tour ball signed by rugby legend George Nepia.
-TimeOut