Bike gang the best bet for Nostalgia Festival
It’s not often organisers would encourage a biker gang to arrive en masse to their event, open the gates and hand them all a beer, but a Christchurch festival is doing exactly that.
Attendants of Nostalgia Festival, held at Ferrymead Heritage Park on Saturday February 10, can either drive, bus or join the popular cycle gang to get to the event.
Festival director Johnny Gibson said it was the third year they had run the cycling group. The festival was celebrating its fifth year of operation.
‘‘Sustainability is a key focus for the festival, we’re always looking to introduce more sustainable initiatives,’’ he said.
‘‘So we identified biking as a great way to cut down cars of the roads and parking used directly relating to the festival.’’
The all-ages festival features the best of Canterbury food and drink, as well as a range of live music and entertainment, all set in Christchurch’s own 1900s replica town.
‘‘The festival’s not only brought something unique to the city, it’s also helped bring back life to Ferrymead Heritage Park which is a real hidden treasure,’’ he said.
Fifty cyclists took part last year, and Gibson anticipated up to 100 on Saturday.
‘‘This year we are taking a bit of a scenic route through the oldest suburbs of Christchurch to arrive at The Tannery, the halfway point. From there we ride along the estuarine salt marshes of the lower Heathcote River, with views of Ferrymead and the Port Hills.’’
Participants will get priority entry into the festival and a drink voucher on arrival.
The gang will leave from Action Bicycle Club, on Walker St, at 11.30am. It will arrive at The Tannery about midday, and reach the festival about 12.30pm
‘‘I really couldn’t think of a better way to arrive at a festival than by bike, in a massive gang with all your friends riding together,’’ Action Bicycle Club owner Charlotte Bebbington said.
‘‘It’s quite a unique experience to create such a big group and bike across Christchurch without any, you know, formal plan or organisation.’’
Bebbington said in years past, cyclists dressed in vintage clothing and even rode vintage bicycles to the event. ‘‘People came up from Oamaru last year, one rode a penny farthing and another rode a very vintage bike – it’s just so much fun.’’
Action are offering a $20 per day bike rental for those without their own wheels. Peddlers could return them on Sunday for an extra fiver.
‘‘They are all vintage, classic European city bikes, so you will definitely fit the image,’’ Bebbington said.
"This year we are taking a bit of a scenic route through the oldest suburbs of Christchurch . . . with views of Ferrymead and the Port Hills."
Festival director Johnny Gibson