THE GIANT PUFF BALL

All good things must come to an end, and the Auckland Mushroom Festival 2026 is going out with a full-blown burst. The inaugural Giant Puff Ball is the festival's official closing party, a one of a kind fungi function where the mushroom-mad, the curious, and the beautifully strange gather under one dome to celebrate everything the festival has grown.

Your host for the evening is the one and only Johanna Cosgrove, guiding you through a night bursting with talent. Live music and DJ sets from Carnivorous Plant Society, Hun Lynch, Fergus Waveforms, HALFQUEEN, Ryan Berkley, and Foxglove and ECB Firmware, all wrapped in immersive floor-to-ceiling visual projections from pareidoliavisuals and unclegrayvisuals, that will have you convinced you've wandered into the undergrowth.

The night begins at 5pm with a special welcome mihi and karakia from Te Rōpu Māori Auckland Pride. From there it unfurls with party games, mischief, and a spicy punch bar with Karmaceuticals to keep the spirits dancing. BYO cup if you can. Proper fairies don't do single use, and neither should you.

COSTUMES, DARLING. COSTUMES.

This is a ball, and you are the fungi. Red caps, spotted caps, towering toadstools, glowing ghost fungi, velvet moss, whatever the rain brought up. Get crafty, get weird, and dress like you grew from the forest floor. Spot prizes for the best dressed fungi throughout the night, so spore no effort.

SHOES OFF, SOCKS ON

In the spirit of fairies, who famously don't wear shoes, this is a barefoot ball. We're stoking the furnace and rolling out the rugs for warmth and toe-wiggling comfort, so pack your cosiest socks for slouchy sliding across the ballroom floor. Coat check will mind your shoes, so don't fret. They'll be waiting at the end of the night.

THE PRACTICAL BITS

The Giant Puff Ball is R16 and alcohol free inside. If you fancy a tipple, pop next door to No.7 for a cheeky drink between dances. Lolo's Pizza Rave will be out front serving authentic Roman-style slices to fuel your frolicking.

Hosted at and in collaboration with Whakamana: the Cannabis Museum of Aotearoa, inside the gorgeous Hopetoun Alpha.

PRE-SALE RSVP TICKETS GUARANTEE PRIORITY ENTRY BEFORE 730 PM, AFTER THAT IF THE VENUE IS FULL YOU MAY HAVE TO WAIT A MOMENT TO GAIN ENTRY.

Dress fungal, dance feral. Let this night mushroom.

You are surrounded by fungi at this very moment. They are floating by on the breeze, breaking down your lunch, moving nutrients through the soil beneath your feet. Without them we wouldn’t have bread, beer or antibiotics. Come learn more about this fascinating kingdom from our Spore Speakers in conversation with Fungi of Aotearoa author, Liv Sisson. Hosted with support from Abstract Hotel.