Downsized Word Festival for level 2
The Word Christchurch literary festival has been downsized to comply with alert level 2, with half of the original programme in place.
The event was originally scheduled for August, but was postponed by the latest Covid-19 outbreak and will now go ahead from November 10 to 13.
The revised programme was released yesterday.
Word Christchurch Festival codirector Rachael King said socially distanced events would be held at The Piano centre on Armagh St and in the Douglas Lilburn Auditorium of the Town Hall.
‘‘We are really lucky that we can go ahead in level 2,’’ she said. ‘‘A lot of that is due to the sacrifices that people in the north have made for us. We really appreciate that.’’
Writers who live outside Canterbury will not be flown in for the event but will instead appear via video link. King said this was to ensure that any future travel restrictions possibly imposed as part of pandemic controls would not disrupt the programme.
The decision also meant that events had to be cancelled at smaller venues that did not have digital video link technology.
Events will be live-streamed for people who have bought tickets but are not able to attend because of the reduced venue capacity due to social distancing measures.
The pop-up festival of short talks on unusual subjects, usually held on New Regent St, will now be held in the Foundation Cafe at the Tu¯ ranga library.
King said it would be a ‘‘41⁄2-hour extravaganza’’ held over a single day.
She said there were contingencies in place to be able to still run the festival during alert levels 3or4.