Christchurch will celebrate its 20th SummerTimes festival this summer, and organisers are already deep into planning the anniversary event.

The Christchurch City Council festival has seen a lot of changes over the years. In 1986 staff estimated about 120,000 people had come to see festival events, with about 6000 turning out for that year’s Classical Sparks concert. By 1998 total attendance numbers were up around 350,000. Classical Sparks, the festival show-stopper, drew just under 100,000 fans that year.

In Council-speak the festival aims to provide free outdoor entertainment for the people of Christchurch, their guests and visitors to the city.

Perry Walker is one of many staff over the years whose careers in the events industry got a boost from working on SummerTimes. He was an events co-ordinator from 1993 to 1997 and now manages events and public relations for Lambton Harbour in Auckland.

He remembers “the incredible sense of satisfaction I got seeing thousands of people enjoying themselves at events”.

SummerTimes was a finalist in the NZ Tourism Awards in 1995 and 1997. According to the Canterbury Promotion Council the festival is an important part of what makes the region special by attracting people to the city and broadening the scope of available entertainment.

For a long time staging was a labour-intensive affair, with scaffolding and tarpaulins. In 1996 the festival first used the 13 tonne mobile stage designed by Ross MacKenzie.

Over the years the festival has included different elements to appeal to as wide a range of tastes as possible. In 1994-95 Graham Wardrop hosted Mellow Yellow, a 60s themed event. The following year it became Strawberry Fields and ran until 2000, when it was repackaged as Retro!.

From 1993 to 1998 the festival included SummerRock. In 1997 about 30,000 fans invaded the park to hear Aussie band Hunters and Collectors perform.

The Summer Theatre season, featuring Shakespearian and other plays, began in the 1992 summer and is still running. Throughout the 1990s the festival had the Valentines Day Dance which is now part of the Festival of Romance.

In 1994 audiences first got a taste of classical music in the park, with Candlelight Opera. It evolved into Starry Nights last year. Kidsplay started in 1997 and is still going strong in early January, entertaining children in community parks around the city.

Other highlights of this summer’s festival include the New Years Eve Party in the Square, the Teddy Bears Picnic and the ASB BANK Starry Nights concert (8 Feburary) with its Broadway and West End hits.

• SummerTimes this year kicks off with the New Years Eve Party in Cathedral Square and ends with the Classical Sparks concert in Hagley Park on 1 March. Brochures will be available around the city from the second week of December.