29 October 1997

Long awaited Pier
opens this weekend.

Christchurch Pier, Marine Parade, New Brighton

Opening celebrations - Saturday 1 & Sunday 2 November

The opening of the city’s newest attraction, The Christchurch Pier, will be celebrated this weekend with a diverse range of family entertainment and activities provided by the New Brighton community.

The Christchurch Pier has taken many years to plan and fund, but finally the effort of hundreds of people throughout the city, and particularly the New Brighton community, have come to fruition.

A Maori blessing at dawn on Saturday 1 November will commence the opening ceremony. Invited guests including Councillors, Community Board members and key players in the development of the Pier will hear speeches from Christchurch Mayor Vicki Buck and Peter Dunbar, the Chairman of the New Brighton Foreshore Society and the Pier Promotion Trust.

The speeches will be followed by the unveiling of a plaque and the first opportunity for the public to go on the Pier. The first 1500 children on the Pier will receive a commemorative certificate from the Mayor.

The rest of the weekend will be more informal with the emphasis on family fun. The Pier Promotion Trust and the Christchurch City Council have combined their efforts to create a memorable weekend of entertainment and activities.

From 8.00am on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 November, visitors to the Pier can enjoy a variety of activities including:

• live bands
• amusement rides
• displays of historic boats and yachts
• tug boat rides from Lyttelton to the Pier
• sand castle competitions and treasure digs
• community stalls and food stalls
• hot rod display
• Tiger Moth aerobatics over the beach
• demonstrations of the Westpac rescue helicopter and New Brighton surf club
• surfing and wave skiing competitions
• demonstrations of windsurfing, jet skiing, kite flying and boogie boarding
• Canterbury Aero Club fly bys
• DC3 fly by

The Christchurch Pier Opening is one of the first events of the Showtime Canterbury festival running from 1 to 16 November.

For further information contact:

Katie Macbeth, Showtime Canterbury publicity co-ordinator, phone 941 8495,

fax 941 8262 or email (katie.macbeth@ccc.govt.nz) katie.macbeth@ccc.govt.nz

or

Jenny Lineham, Pier Promotion Trust, phone 388 9247

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