What’s on in O¯ tautahi Christchurch
Winter fireworks spectacular
The annual fireworks display at New Brighton Pier will kick off at 5.30pm tomorrow, with fireworks from 7pm, set to a soundtrack of modern Kiwi classics. There will be live music from the Hootz, who will also be featuring at the Go Live music festival. Spectators can listen to the music by tuning in to The Hits radio station on frequency 97.7FM.
A free park and ride service will be available from Eastgate Mall to New Brighton from 4.30pm to 6.30pm. Express charter buses will run from New Brighton to Eastgate Mall from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. Mobility parking is available. Rain is forecast and if bad weather forces the postponement of the fireworks, it will be announced via The Hits and the Christchurch City Council Facebook page. The call to cancel may not be made until just before the fireworks start at 7pm. The postponement date is July 10.
Actor Michael Hurst tours the South Island with one-man show
Celebrated Kiwi actor, director and writer Michael Hurst is touring the South Island with his new one-man show, The Golden Ass.
The show, freely adapted by Hurst from the nearly 2000-year-old Roman novel, is about a man who is obsessed with magic and accidentally casts a spell that turns him into a donkey.
‘‘I am fascinated by all things in that classical vein,’’ he said. ‘‘I thought it could make a raucous, hilarious and ribald show.’’
Hurst is taking the show to Hokitika, Cromwell, Arrowtown, Twizel, Oamaru, Geraldine, Ashburton, Akaroa and Picton from July 8 to 16.
Hurst, who has been honoured for his services to film and theatre, said he loved the energy of performing in small towns.
‘‘The energy of these towns and the idea of being able to land in a town and do a show, that goes back to the origins of drama.
‘‘It is like making an honest job out of acting. It is coal face stuff. You have to be on your game and adapt to any space.’’
School holiday programmes
Art Programme – Visions Art Studio – Art teacher Moire Mathieson will be teaching all art mediums – take in a picture to paint or draw and Moire will help you achieve it.
Kids can enhance their creativity, painting in acrylic, watercolour and ink, or drawing with graphite or charcoal.
Art classes are for children aged 5 to 12 and youths between 13 and 17 at the Visions and Vino Art Studio, 1060 Ferry Road, Ferrymead, Christchurch.
School Holiday Horse Riding – Lessons and Holiday Programmes – Abi’s Natural Horsemanship and Riding School offers a range of programmes that include learning how to prepare horses or ponies for riding, safety around them, a lesson in natural horsemanship (ridden and ground skills), care after riding, feeding and, if doing a full day, a chance to explore the local countryside from horseback.
There are options for a half, full day, one and a half or two days, with costs ranging from $60 to $210. These are suitable for participants aged from 5 upwards. For further information, check the website.
Go Live festival
The walls of the Christchurch Town Hall will reverberate with the sound of more than 18 emerging and established artists at the Go Live Festival for two nights on July 22 and 23. Join the festival launch party featuring special guest, Kiwi rock legend Jon Toogood (solo), Volts, Heavy Jones & Deep Water Creek and more on Saturday. Go Live Festival is an all-ages event.
NZ’s top young singers coming to Christchurch
NZ Secondary Students’ Choir is heading to Nelson, Blenheim, Christchurch, Wa¯ naka and Queenstown from tomorrow to July 23. The internationally awarded national choir for secondary school singers is back performing in Christchurch for the first time since 2019. Audiences will hear music from American ‘‘choral rock star’’ Eric Whitacre, Latvia’s Eriks Esenvalds, 17th century Italian composer Antonio Lotti, New Zealand works by David N Childs and a waiata with actions from Christchurch’s Puanaki Whanua. Another crowd favourite is the toetapping version of Toto’s Africa.
More top young talent performing in Christchurch
NZSO National Youth Orchestra is set to play in O¯ tautahi Christchurch on Saturday for the first time in four years and will feature Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony, Titan. The 96-member orchestra includes 16 young musicians from Christchurch.
The orchestra will be led by Australian conductor Fabian Russell, who founded The Orchestra Project, a training programme for pre-eminent young Australian musicians.
Searching for the truth
The Search for Truth – Information, Disinformation and the Algorithms of Social Media lecture will be delivered by Verica Rupar, a professor of journalism at AUT’s school of communications studies. She is chairperson of the World Journalism Education Council and has worked as a journalist and taught journalism in Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary, Australia, the UK and New Zealand. The lecture will be held at the Atrium in the Park (Christchurch Netball Centre), 455 Hagley Ave, on Saturday, July 23, at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm, parking available at the venue). The lecture is free and followed by refreshments.