Stories Feature in Free Activities During Festival

22 February 2008

Media Release

Stories Feature in Free Activities During Festival in Capital

A range of activities in the capital this month will encourage people to get involved in story telling as part of the New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week, one of the core events of the International Arts Festival.

Waiting for a bus in Courtney Place, eating lunch on a park bench in Civic Square or browsing for books in a bookstore could become a surprising new experience for some people over the next few weeks.

These activities, and more, could activate a secret sound box where a voice, seemingly from out of the blue, will recount a quirky story about sitting on a park bench, shopping or even visiting the amenities at a picture theatre.

The listener will find themselves becoming part of the story; one of the free events New Zealand Post is hosting. The aim is to remind people that life can imitate art during the time of the New Zealand International Arts Festival.

People are also being invited to write a short story on a postcard and send it in to New Zealand Post. The stories will be compiled into one big public story and displayed on the waterfront for everyone to read.

New Zealand Post chief executive John Allen says New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week offers many opportunities for people to enjoy a range of artistic experiences from the challenging to the purely entertaining.

“I encourage people to experience these events and many others that are part of Festival month. Wellington is a great city during this time of the year –there is so much going on and there is something for everyone.”

New Zealand Post has been a sponsor of the International Arts Festival for 16 years and a sponsor of the New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week since 1994.

The New Zealand International Arts Festival runs from February 22 to March 16.

LOCATIONS

Sound in the City February 17 – March 18
• Businesses taking part in Sound in the City include:
• Les Mills Taranaki Street
• Unity Books Willis Street
• New World Railway
• Embassy Theatre
• Outside the General Practitioner bar Willis Street

Other locations include a bench in Civic Square, a bench in front of Te Papa, the Lagoon overbridge and traffic lights outside Molly Malones. New Zealand Post will have the sound devices located posting boxes on Wakefield Street and on Lambton Quay outside Borders, some PostShops and Kiwibank ATMs. Saatchi’s will also have the voice boxes in its offices on Taranaki Street.

Wall of Words – February 29 to March 16 Taranaki Wharf (between Te Papa and the Lagoon.)

ENDS

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