City festival comes of age

The Rick Armstrong Motors Classical Sparks concert this Saturday is the grand finale of the SummerTimes™ festival, the City Council’s annual summer line-up of free outdoor entertainment.

This year, SummerTimes celebrates its 21st birthday, making it one of New Zealand’s longest running summer festivals. Icon events such as the upcoming Classical Sparks, which has drawn crowds of more than 120,00, and the Teddy Bears’ Picnic held earlier this month, have remained a feature of the festival since it was first held in 1983.

City Council Marketing Project Co-ordinator Beatrice Cheer, says the festival’s longevity reflects the level of support it enjoys from the local community.

“The Council has always run community events and SummerTimes was really an extension of that. We’ve been careful to keep the original vision, which was to present quality, free, outdoor entertainment in popular city venues that appeals to families, and to encourage people to get outside and enjoy something different.”

The 2003 Annual Resident’s Survey reinforces that support with SummerTimes rated as one of the top four things that the Christchurch City Council has done for Christchurch in the last few years. This is also reflected by the level of support the two-and-a-half month long festival receives from national sponsors and local businesses.

Beatrice says this year’s festival has seen a renewed focus on events that celebrate the uniqueness of the city’s local communities.

“The upcoming Culture Galore event on 6 March is one example. The festival at Ray Blank Park will feature performances from more than 40 different cultural groups including Greek, Russian, Spanish, Taiwanese and Pacific Island cultures with Irish and Korean dance acts also performing.”

Having a diverse range of events presented in the beautiful outdoor spaces of Hagley Park and the city’s community parks, as well as the significant crowd favourites like ASB Bank Starry Nights, have also been a key to SummerTime’s on-going success, according to Beatrice.

“It’s about giving people the opportunity to get out of the house and experience something musical, sporty, cultural and new.

“After 21 years experience, it’s really only the weather that remains the wild-card.

In the last few years we’ve had indoor venues lined up as alternative venues in case of rain. If an event like the Teddy Bears’ Picnic is rained out for example (as it has been for the last four years, including this year), we can shift the entire event to an indoor venue. Logistically it’s a huge effort, but the show does go on.”

Rick Armstrong Motors Classical Sparks The finale to the SummerTimes programme occurs on Saturday, 28 February at 7pm when one of the largest outdoor concerts in New Zealand takes place in North Hagley Park. Rick Armstrong Motors Classical Sparks is celebrating its 21st year, and this year stars Tim Beveridge, Viktoria Dodoka, and local star violinist Ben Morrison.

The Christchurch Symphony will be conducted by Marc Taddei, and will perform classical favourites, concluding with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, accompanied by breathtaking fireworks.

So, pack a picnic basket and rug and get along to the park for a night to remember.

• For more information about the event visit www.summertimes.org.nz or call 941 6840 during office hours.