Five year anniversary for Nostalgia

Christchurch’s Nostalgia music festival will be celebrating its fifth birthday as it entertains crowds at Ferrymead Heritage park next Saturday (February 10th).

The festival was founded in 2013 by Johnny Gibson when he was just 25-years-old. Gibson had returned to New Zealand after three years of travel and had no prior experience in running festivals or events.

“I came home from living in Central America and only planned to be back in Christchurch for a few months.

“But then I saw a new entrepreneurial side to the city I’d never experienced growing up here and, with nothing to lose, I decided I wanted to get involved. I’ve always loved music, hospitality, and events, so Nostalgia was born.”

The festival has since welcomed around 10,000 punters who’ve been entertained by the likes of Liam Finn, Lawrence Arabia, The Phoenix Foundation and Tami Neilson at Ferrymead Heritage Park.

This year, a sell out crowd is expected to attend the festival headlined by Connan Mockasin and The Chills.

“Nostalgia’s growing and has reached a point I could never have imagined at the start. Running an event like this in Christchurch — or any city — is not an easy task and it’s had its struggles, so I’m delighted the people have supported it so much over the years,” Gibson says.

“The festival’s not only brought something unique to the city, it’s also helped bring back life to Ferrymead Heritage Park which is a real hidden treasure.”

Nostalgia is an all ages family-friendly event which features varied entertainment and some of Canterbury’s best food and drink all within the 1900s replica town.

“Nostalgia is such a great event — it brings people together in a beautiful, relaxed environment, with great music, food and drink,” ChristchurchNZ Chief Executive Officer, Joanna Norris, says.

“While, its theme is nostalgic, it’s actually a forward-looking, clever and edgy event led by smart entrepreneurial people willing to test new ideas; this is the kind of event we would love to see more of in Christchurch.”

Nostalgia runs from 12:30pm to 8pm on Saturday February 10 at Ferrymead Heritage Park.

More information about the artists and the event is atwww.nostalgiafestival.co.nz.

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