1 December 2006

SummerTimes calendar includes special Kiwi-themed treat

While 1 December traditionally signals the start of summer, this year it has also seen the arrival of the 2006/07 SummerTimes calendar which contains New Zealanders Dave Dobbyn and Deoborah Wai Kapohe who will perform at a very Kiwi-flavoured Paul Kelly Motor Company Classical Sparks to be held on the eve of Waitangi Day next year.

The 24th SummerTimes calendar also has many events packed into it that will have families out and about all summer long enjoying the multitude of open spaces that Christchurch has to offer.

Council Events Production Team Manager Mark Hadlow says the programme opens proper on New Year’s Eve with the Anthony Harper Lawyers New Year’s Eve Party in Cathedral Square.

“What better way to bring in the New Year than on-stage performances by The Black Velvet Band and The Bubblemen which are then topped off with a wonderful fireworks display to bring in the New Year?” he says.

“As well, to see in the New Year there will be a lone piper playing Auld Lang Syne at the top of the Cathedral.”

ASB Starry Nights, Christchurch’s own version of Broadway, will this year provide a wonderful trip down memory lane with many number-one hits performed live on the big stage in Hagley Park.

During SummerTimes parents will be able to take their kids along to camp out under the stars at one of four city parks during the annual Great Kids Campout, let them learn to fly a kite at Tip Top Kite Day or head along to the family-favourite McDonald’s Teddy Bears’ Picnic.

Families will also be able to head along with a picnic to the Daffodil Lawn at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens where they can watch this year’s Anthony Harper Lawyers Summer Theatre production, All the Great Books (abridged), which stars the Outwits and is directed by Greg Cooper.

“Summer is also a great time for communities to come together and many do this through events in SummerTimes. There is a myriad of events funded by community boards on this year’s calendar,” Mr Hadlow says.

Finally on the calendar, to mark the end of summer, is an event to farewell the remarkable Godwits. These amazing birds typically leave Christchurch at the end of summer and embark on a globe-spanning journey back towards the warmer Siberian climes over 11,000km away.

For further information about the 2006/07 SummerTimes calendar, pick up a brochure from Council Service Centres and Libraries from Wednesday 6 December, look out for the 6 December edition of The Christchurch Mail or visit www.summertimes.co.nz from 4 December.

ENDS

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