Street party to light up central city
A street party at the centre of the expanded Botanic D’Lights festival could attract up to
70,000 people to central Christchurch. The event comes a week after city leaders urged more residents to support businesses in the city and ‘‘reconnect’’ with their home town.
The biennial Botanic D’Lights festival will have 40 light and animation installations scattered through the Botanic Gardens and Arts Centre. It is the first year the festival will include the historic buildings.
Rolleston Ave will be closed to vehicles between Worcester Blvd and south of Hereford St, to create a ‘‘street party’’ atmosphere with food trucks and live music.
The expanded event could be just the ticket to get people back into the CBD, with eateries and hospitality providers getting in behind the event.
The 2016 event was expected to attract
40,000 people, but almost double – 78,000 – turned up across the five nights.
This year DUO Asian eatery, on Rolleston Ave, will extend its happy hour until ‘‘late’’, while Rollickin Gelato at the Arts Centre will be under black lights to keep up the ‘‘mega glowing fun’’.
An animated piece by Jacob Yikes, one of Christchurch’s most prolific street artists, will be projected onto the Clock Tower building.
Ara motion design tutor Tim Budgen said his students had been working on the installations, including the animation of Yikes’ drawing, since February.
‘‘Jacob has created a piece of artwork specifically for the event that we have since deconstructed and animated,’’ Budgen said.
The festival and associated installations were ‘‘a great way for them to get some real world professional experience, but still be within their degree’’, Budgen said.
‘‘They have such diverse taste and styles, in particular the archways piece in the Arts Centre is a good example of that variety.’’
Yikes said he had ‘‘always [been] really keen to see my painting come alive’’.
‘‘All of the caricatures I come up with are pieces of myself and my personality . . . a lot of my work can be quite dark but I wanted this to appeal to all age groups,’’ he said.
Yikes’ piece will be auctioned after the festival to raise funds for Nurse Maude Hospice, the festival’s chosen charity. Attendants are asked to bring a gold coin for entry, to be donated to Nurse Maude.
Other installations contributed by people from Ara include River of Words, created by Ara photography tutor John Mallard, and Oberon’s Dream, a ‘‘fairy grotto scenario’’ put together by tutors John Osbourne, Deborah Marshall and Carol King.
Christchurch City Council arts and events manager Karena Finnie said extending the event into the Arts Centre would allow people to ‘‘enjoy the after-dark magic of two very different environments’’.
The festival runs from today until Sunday, with gates opening at 6pm and closing at 9pm.