Celebrating the men in your life could be as easy as a leafing through the Tauranga Arts Festival programme and taking advantage of the earlybird ticket prices available to most shows.

Sporty Dad: Record-setting Black Caps batsman John Wright has coached the national teams of New Zealand and India, these days scouting for the 2019 Netflix series Cricket Fever. In his down time on the road John developed his passion for country-tinged songwriting and on October 30 brings his music – and his cricketing stories – to Tauranga. Tickets available here.

Funny Dad: Acrobatic clown Tom Flanagan honed his skills as a youngster with Australia’s Flying Fruit Circus. In Kaput, his award-winning solo show, Flanagan pays tribute to his silent-film slapstick heroes Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. For ages 5 to 105. Tickets available here.

Folkie Dad: For almost 30 years Shooglenifty have been taking the traditional Celtic music of their Scottish homeland and fusing it with modern beats and basslines. The band, fresh from major international appearances, performs on October 25. Tickets available here.

Circus-mad Dad: Dirty, dangerous and jaw-dropping, LIMBO is a circus-cabaret like no other with its rambunctious live music, sword swallowing and fire-eating. Evening shows on October 25 and 26, plus a matinee on October 26. Tickets available here.

Drama Dad: Cellfish takes Shakespeare to a Kiwi prison with unexpected results that are sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-breaking. Some of the hardened inmates want to improve their chances of parole, some have time to kill and one just wants to kill. Tickets available here.

Blues Dad: American singer Greg Copeland pays his dues to the deep South and tips his hat to his musical heritage in a special acoustic set on October 27. Tickets available here.

Money Dad: Award-winning finance writer Mary Holm will talk on November 3 about her 2018 book Rich Enough? A laid-back guide for every Kiwi that lays out eight steps to getting your money sorted. Tickets available here.

Writing Dad: A screenplay shoved in the bottom drawer? Ideas for a TV series or novel in a tattered notebook? A yearning to write a children’s book or short stories? Try a festival workshop – screenwriting with Tim Balme, writing for middle readers with Kate De Goldi (both October 26); short stories with Tracey Slaughter and writing fiction that sells with Catherine Robertson (October 27).

Tauranga Arts Festival runs from October 24 to November 3.
Earlybird ticket prices available until September 13. Tickets and programmes from Baycourt box
office or in the links above.