Goodness me, the Going West Festival (2-25 September) is sneaking up on us, and having just trawled through the offerings in a purposeful, beady-eyed kind of way, I can confirm that I’ve made my bookings and I’m Very Excited. Last year I only got to a few events; this year will be different.

Some highlights: the whole of the Friday night of the literary weekend (9-11 Sept) will be superb, with some of the cream of the Wellington literati making the journey north (and west). Bill Manhire, Nigel Cox and Hinemoana Baker will have a session each from 7.30pm to 9.15. (Bill and Nigel appear later in the weekend as well, Bill talking to Sunday Star Times editor Iain Sharp, and Nigel to Mike Johnson).

On the Saturday Douglas Lloyd Jenkins will be talking about his superb, prize-winning book At Home – A Century of New Zealand Design and the gorgeous Seline Tusitala Marsh will be talking Pacific lit. Karyn Hay, Emily Perkins and Anne French will be chatting about being back in NZ after years of travel.

Then from 7.30 to 10pm Going West will celebrate its 10th Anniversay with an evening dedicated to Hone Tuwhare. This will include performances by good old rocker Graham Brazier and others who have appeared on the recent CD of Hone’s work which was produced by Charlotte Yates, plus the iconic film Tuwhare, the Return Home which featured the poet touring Northland with Glenn Colquhoun. This is a must-see.

On Sunday: among others, there’s filmmaker extraordinaire Barry Barclay, writer Stephanie Johnson, and Rosemary McLeod talking of her book Thrift to Fantasy: Home Textile Crafts of the 1930s-1950s, a family history relating how women in the early part of last century found themselves through craft. Choice tea cosies abound. Objectspace director Philip Clarke introduces this session. Then in the late afternoon there’s a serious treat: the weekend is brought to a close by the Jubilation Choir singing old-time hot gospel with spoken text by the incredible actress Madeleine Sami (who could forget those plays: No.2 and Bare … lifechangers).

Of course we’ll be taking the kids to Storyfest on Saturday 17 September at the Kelston Community Centre. This is a freebie that is really worthwhile. 10am to 4pm, it will feature live theatre, storytellers, puppetry, roving entertainers, book displays and lots of hands-on activities.

There’s also theatre, a poetry slam, bookmarket, more films (including one on Marti Friedlander, photographer, on Friday 23 at Lopdell House Gallery – that’ll be brilliant), comedy, exhibitions, poetry writing workshops and of course, the Festival’s reason to be: the great Going West Steam Train Journey on Sunday 25 September. For the uninitiated, this is a decadent, extraordinary day of entertainment which will be literary, culinary and musical. It’s a round-trip from Auckland Central to Helensville, and will feature Maurice Gee (whose book Going West started it all), Marcus Lush and Karyn Hay plus various poets and musicians (Andrew Fagan will make a rare appearance) doing their things at historic station stops along the way. Brilliant.

So git along, little dogies. Make plans to head west – there's only two weeks to go.