FESTA releases biggest programme yet

FESTA releases biggest programme yet celebrating food and the city

A giant seedling sale and koha BBQ at Cultivate Urban Farm; food adventures on foot exploring mahinga kai sites as well as Christchurch’s drinking and dining past; journeys by bike to local food production sites; a neighbourhood-warming with pizza, butterflies and a treasure hunt for kids, made by kids; a national symposium hosted by Simon Wilson featuring prominent voices working in food systems; and a spectacular celebration of architecture, community and food, live for one night only.

These are just a few of the 55 events that form FESTA 2018’s public festival of architecture, design and food, which launches today (Thursday 20 September). The programme, FESTA’s biggest ever, runs over the course of Labour Weekend.

From Friday 19 to Monday 22 October, twenty-seven venues across the city host events exploring the ways in which food is an integral part of the urban fabric and how food connects places, people and ideas.

The public is invited to participate in this packed programme, which ranges in scope from Dates with Plates through to Food for Thought. There is something for everyone on offer.

The Corner Store hosts Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin’s photographic exhibition Food Maps; ‘Food and Funk’ hits the Dance-O-Mat; A Communal Loaf teams up with the Phillipstown Community Hub to present a series of communal meals and workshops. Family Events include ‘Produce A City’, a chance for children to sculpt buildings in the shape of vegetables and fruits and create a colourful clay cityscape. The closing night event, presented in association with the Food Resilience Network, is an evening of food films and locally grown movie snacks in the Botanic Gardens.

On Saturday 20 October, Christchurch’s biggest and brightest street party is taking place in the new public spaces around Mollett Street. FESTA’s headline event, FEASTA!, is a public feast of architecture and food and features a bar of the future, artists who weave their food-related works into the celebration, a Little Asia food market, unique bamboo structures for feasting, imaginative installations, a food-packaging wearable art parade for children, music from The Big Band Festival, a speakers’ corner and demonstration station, activities, lots of great things to eat and drink, and much more.

FEASTA! features 17 artistic and architectural installations in an international collaboration between seven leading design and architecture schools from across Aotearoa and Australia, as well as members from the NZIA and NZILA Canterbury branches, artists, and Creative Director Barnaby Bennett. Along with community groups, local businesses and many others they are working together to transform these spaces and put on a great night out for Christchurch.

Please visit our website for full details.

ENDS

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