What’s on in in O¯ tautahi Christchurch
Hindsight is 2020. Hopefully you’ve been enjoying your summer of swims, naps and new potatoes.
I once unleashed my inner bogan in a classic car going for it on the burnout pad at Muscle Car Madness and highly recommend it as some of the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Don’t forget to check out the rockabilly pageant there too, at this weekend’s event.
There are so many fun things happening in Christchurch including the ongoing party with the buskers in our own backyard. The following is a small selection of events on offer. If you have an event you’d like people to know about, email Vicki. Anderson@Stuff.co.nz. The Christchurch song of the week is For You by Dillastrate.
Muscle car madness
This year marks the 31st annual Muscle Car Madness event. See American muscle cars, hot rods, bikes, trikes and restored classics, hear live music, wander the trade displays and fun fair. Retro rockabilly pageant. Burnouts at 1.30pm. Tomorrow and Sunday 9am-4pm, Rangiora A&P Showgrounds, Ashley St. Adults $20, two-day pass $35, children 15 and under free.
Christchurch detectives
GeoGames New Zealand is an outdoor detective adventure game. It’s arriving in Christchurch on April 3. In The Christchurch Ripper, you and your team of detectives roam the city’s streets in this interactive game solving clues to crack the case and uncover the villain. It costs $71 per team of six and one of you must have a working smartphone. Children under 16 can play as extras for free.
Russell Howard
Following the record-breaking success of his 2017 tour Round The World, comedian Russell Howard returns, with a great deal of effort in a Covid-19 world, with his biggest globe-spanning stand-up tour to date – Respite. Hot on the heels of his global smash Netflix special Recalibrate, Russell is back on stage making sense of a world that’s spinning out of control. Respite at the Christchurch Town Hall on Monday. See Ticketek for details.
Burns Night
If you’re a fan of Robert ‘‘the ploughman poet’’ Burns or just in the mood for a Scottish night out, the Sign of the Takahe has a Burns Night tomorrow from 6.30pm to 11pm. It includes a themed menu, welcome piping in of the haggis, highland dancing, live music and gin and whisky tasting.
Symphony in the City
Tomorrow’s edition of the Christchurch City Council’s Symphony in the City, a free concert in Victoria Square from 6.30pm to 7.30pm, is themed The Latin Lounge. Return to the mellow sounds of the 50s with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra performing classics such as Mambo Italiano, Agua de Beber, Cuban Holiday and more.
Celebrity cricket
The T20 Christchurch Black Clash features some of New Zealand’s sporting stars playing against each other in a high-intensity, fun T20 cricket match tonight at Hagley Oval. Competitors include All Blacks stars, former and current, including Jordie Barrett and Izzy Dagg facing their cricketing heroes such as Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori, Peter Fulton and Grant Elliott. Start time 6.30pm.
Backyard buskers
My picks of the buskers events this weekend are the Buskers Brewery tour on Saturday from 10am to 5.30pm. Tickets $99, includes lunch, bus trip and a show at each venue. Also check out the fantastic vocals of Te Huaki Puanaki featuring the Huakina band and Wiremu Puanaki offering a celebration of Ma¯ori music on Sunday at the Plymouth Lane Busking Pitch. There are loads of other hometown heroes to discover too.
Ugly is a state of mind
Ugly – the Untold Story of the Stepsisters is at Little Andromeda Theatre this weekend and is aimed at children over 4. Presented by the Blackboard Theatre Collective, the story follows Cinderella’s stepsisters Olga and Agnes as they set out on an adventurous quest to discover that beauty actually lies within. Written by Nicky Douglas, the original musical aims to teach children to see goodness as beauty and to place the importance of kindness over symmetry.
Tickets $12/$18. Saturday 10.30am, 1pm and 3.30pm. Sunday 10.30am, 1pm.
Eastern suburbs barbecue
A free community event is being held at New Brighton’s Thomson skate park tomorrow from 11am. The Eastern Suburbs Barbecue is an alcoholfree mini-festival with live music.
Ghostlight Film
The Ghostlight Film series continues at the Isaac Theatre Royal and this weekend there are some astounding treats. Tomorrow, 10am, Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban; 2pm, The Last Waltz;
8pm, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Tuesday at
7.30pm, it screens Reservoir Dogs.
Holocaust Remembrance Day
A public ceremony is being held at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens on Wednesday as part of the UN Holocaust Remembrance Day from 1pm to 2pm at the Peace Bell in honour of the victims and survivors of the holocaust.
The Die
Mack and Beth live in the back room of a Lyttelton fish and chip shop. In this ‘‘deep-fried’’ psychological thriller by Joe Bennett, love and tragedy meet fast-food reality at the Lyttelton Arts Factory, 34 Oxford St. It stars Tom Trevella and Hester Ullyart and is directed by Mike Friend. R13. The season runs until February 6.
LIVE MUSIC:
Today: 12 Browns Down and Keeltys at Darkroom; Chaos in the CBD, K2K, Nice Girl at Hide kudos to the Bizarro crew; Submerge release party at Flux; Corticera at Wunderbar. Tomorrow: Liquid Funk (Wgtn) at Hide; Souldrop Jive’s release tour at Darkroom. Sunday: Looking For Alaska – Light and Shadow album release tour at Darkroom, 7.30pm (folk); Summer Jazz Series at Old Stonehouse 4pm (jazz). Wednesday: Volts at Spaced Out Sessions at Grater Goods, $20.