What’s on in Ō tautahi Christchurch
Dreaming of Rent
Rent, the high-energy musical phenomenon that helped reinvent the genre in America in the 1990s, begins a two-month run at the Court Theatre tomorrow.
Based on Puccini’s La Boheme opera and the winner of a Pulitzer prize and multiple Tony awards, Rent tells the story of a group of artists struggling and striving to follow their dreams in New York against a backdrop of poverty, looming gentrification and the Aids crisis of the 1990s.
The show runs from November 19 to January 21; for tickets contact the Court Theatre.
Bang the drum
The Drum (and dance) Festival is a weekend of rhythm and dance, entertainment and education on the Banks Peninsula, the only dedicated festival of its type in the country. More than 50 performers will come from around the country, with tutors so that visitors can participate.
The family-oriented event takes place in the Manaia Native Habitat, beside the Okuti River at Little River, between 3pm and 4pm today, tomorrow and Sunday. Bring your own food and drink, and find out more or volunteer by emailing littlerivercamp@gmail.com.
Vegan Expo
The Christchurch Vegan Expo is the country’s premier vegan big day out and is back on Sunday at the Haere-Roa venue at the University of Canterbury. Grab some delicious vegan food, watch cookery demonstrations and listen to inspiring speakers. Visitors can also learn more about cruelty-free alternatives to meat, eggs and dairy products, plus there is live music and activities for children.
Tickets are $5 or $6 at the door, children under 16 are free; the expo runs from 10am to 4pm. Visit veganexpo.co.nz/christchurch
Get your boots on
Stretch your legs before summer kicks in properly as part of the Banks Peninsula Walking Festival.
There are still places to walk in the footsteps of famed Antarctic explorer Frank Worsley in the Akaroa Skyline Walk from 9.30am on Sunday, a seven-hour hike over steep hills.
An easier child-oriented walk on November 27 is at Sugarloaf, a two-hour walk around the peak that has a checklist of tasks and activities for children to tick off along the way. Both can be booked via Eventfinda.
Alternatively, Christchurch’s newest walking tracks open today at the stormwater basin in Hoon Hay, where 4km of paths form part of a $50 million project that will bring new tracks, cycle routes, bridges and native plants to the area.
Get your Groove on at QEII
Electro band Groove Armada will headline a concert that will be the first major event held at Queen Elizabeth II Park since the February 2011 earthquakes.
Up to 5000 people are expected for the ticketed event next Thursday. Traffic management will be in place in and around QEII for the event.
Matuku Masquerade Ball
Come dressed to kill for a masquerade ball tomorrow to raise funds for the Matuku Community Theatre in Sumner.
The night starts with a fancy foxtrot lesson with Sumner Ballroom Dance School, before guests will dance like no one is watching to live music from local band Baysix.
Tickets are $40 and include supper and a glass of bubbles, and there are prizes for the best dressed guests. The ball runs from 7pm to 11pm at the Matuku Takotako Sumner Centre in Wakefield Ave. Tickets from trybooking.com/nz/events/landing/7971
Raise money for dementia research
Northbrook Museum, one of New Zealand’s largest social history museums, is holding an open day on Sunday to help raise money for dementia research.
The museum started in 1982 with a few old milk bottles and is now a treasure trove of old New Zealand memorabilia, with an early Rangiora street that features a butcher, dentist, pharmacy, grocer, camera and hardware shop. The open day runs from 1.30pm to 4pm, donations will support Dementia Canterbury.
Do you have an event coming up? Email reporters@press.co.nz