Stories

Birds, birds, birds – Christchurch writer Kate Preece has teamed up with architect and illustrator Pippa Ensor to produce a children’s book on the rare and endangered bird species of Rēkohu Chatham Islands. One Weka Went Walking (Bateman Books) shines a spotlight on some of Aotearoa’s rarest birds, including one of the rarest seabirds in the world, the tāiko. The featured birds are all endemic to the Chatham Islands, except for the buff weka, which was introduced in 1905. You’ll know Kate – she’s written for and edited several magazine over the years, including editor of Style. Pippa is usually found behind her desk at Athfield Architects in Christchurch but Kate roped in her childhood friend as illustrator, thinking she would be the perfect person to bring the words to life. Pippa’s delightful drawings confirm Kate’s choice. Meanwhile the rhyming and repetition in the text is a guaranteed hook for young...

The Royal New Zealand Ballet is bringing Tutus on Tour to the Isaac Theatre Royal on 5 November. The performance is part of a 10-city tour from Auckland’s North Shore to Invercargill that began on October 7. Artistic Director Patricia Barker has curated a gorgeous gala programme that showcases RNZB dancers at their very best. Beloved classical favourites sit alongside more recent works, including one New Zealand premiere. The pas de trois from Le Corsaire offers firecracker virtuosity, while the joyful ‘Waltz of the Pohutukawa Flowers’ and grand pas de deux from the RNZB's production of The Nutcracker, choreographed by Val Caniparoli, heralds the Christmas season with warmth and grandeur. On the contemporary side, Christopher Wheeldon’s After the Rain pas de deux (2005) makes its RNZB debut. Gentle and tender, showing a profound connection between its performers, it is a work that is cherished by every dancer lucky enough to perform...

King of Snake has taken out the top prize in the Canterbury Hospitality Awards. The celebrated restaurant’s fusion of Asian and Euro influences caught the attention of the judges, who named it Supreme Establishment of the Year at the annual awards ceremony at Te Pae on Monday, 17 October. As well as landing the Trents Supreme Establishment Award, King of Snake won the OneMusic Outstanding Ambience and Design award, and the Service Foods Outstanding Restaurant award. In all, 20 awards were presented. Restaurant Association Chief Executive Marisa Bidois congratulated all finalists and winners. “Consistency and quality are what puts great establishments on the map, and quality is what the Canterbury Hospitality Awards recognise today. Christchurch and surrounds are richer for our hospitality leaders and our winners are at the top of their game, delivering great experiences and flavours that keep patrons coming back for more.” The Outstanding People’s Choice award went...

This Spanish Mission-style walkway may be the prettiest street in Christchurch, but its real drawcards are all the speciality destinations packed into its 120-metre span. New Regent Street was originally the location of Christchurch’s Colosseum. Our gladiators were armed with ice skates rather than swords, but it was still pretty cool. In the early 1930s, New Regent Street Limited developed the street in the Spanish Mission architecture we see today, with stylised gables and columns. It was a forerunner to modern malls, designed to group several small businesses together in a single themed development. In the ‘90s it officially became a walking street, though the space was to be shared with the tram. The street was shut down after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, but reopened in 2013 and has been going from strength to strength ever since. Dine Twenty Seven Steps and Story are the kings of cuisine on this royal...

Jump in the car and head for the highlands this spring. Mackenzie District is just two hours’ drive away from Christchurch, and it’s a whole ‘nother world of scenery and adventure. From hiking to flight-seeing, discover an extensive range of outdoor activities in a stunning natural landscape of jewel-blue lakes and soaring mountain peaks. The stuff of postcards, this is home to New Zealand’s tallest mountain, Aoraki Mount Cook, and a national park punctuated with ice-white glaciers. Fairlie will be your first stop and gateway to the district. This unassuming small town is set amid rolling green farmland and is home to some of the best pies in the country at the Fairlie Bakehouse. Head through Burkes Pass and up to Tekapo (or Takapō), the cultural centre of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. This is a great little town for springboarding adventures. Home to the Church of the Good...

Cityscape talks to Lisa Sinke, the mastermind behind Wink design, about setting up the perfect bedroom. It’s just a bedroom, right? Nobody else ever sees it, so it doesn’t really matter what you do with it, right? Wrong. We spend a third of our lives in bed, so making that room look and feel great is essential to living well, says interior designer Lisa Sinke. “And really, do we live our lives for others, or ourselves?” The centrepiece of a well-designed bedroom is the bedhead. Back when slat beds were the norm, bedheads and bed ends were everywhere. “I always remember looking forward to being a grownup so I could get my own,” Lisa says. “I got a beautiful oak bed and I was so proud of it.” But now, with the prevalence of enormous mattresses and boxed ensemble bed bases, bedheads have gone the way of the moa. “There’s something...

Heat up with some good vibes this spring at Canterbury’s top hot pools. Rain, snow, beautiful sun or even starshine, a steamy soak is the perfect situation. Right here in Christchurch you’ll find He Puna Taimoana hot salt water pools. Sitting right on the edge of the beach at New Brighton, this is the perfect place to gaze out to sea while keeping toasty warm. Ōpuke Thermal Pools and Spa in Methven is the newest entry on the Canterbury hot pools scene. No kids are allowed, so you can enjoy the views of the Alps in peace and swim up to the bar for a cocktail. There’s nothing quite like watching the spring snow drift around while you soak in hot water, and there are several places around the region you can do just that. A little further up the hills and into Mackenzie District, hit up Tekapo Springs. This is...

Anticipation is building ahead of The Colombo Dog Fashion Show on Sunday, October 16, with Starlet the Chinese Crested already showing the importance of accessorising. No big reveal until the day though – competition costumes are shrouded in secrecy. The fashion show starts at 10am but the fun continues all day, with ice cream and cake for the canines and The Colombo’s host of excellent eateries serving up goodies all day. The event is the brainchild of Lilly Cooper, owner of The Colombo, and this year’s one-day event is just the start. Lilly has big plans for next year, with a series of shows for different dogs over four weeks, including the school holidays. “We really want to grow the event and get children involved. Holding it alongside the school holidays will help with that,” Lilly says. The organisers have gone all out to recreate the drama of a New York...

Blessed are the cheese-makers, they say, and that goes double for those that bring the creamy goodness direct to our tables. At Fino Hotel in Kilmore Street you can now take a pew in the all-new Cheese Bar and indulge your tastebuds and senses with everything from classic fondue to baked brie, halloumi fries, cheesecake, and burgers topped with scraped raclette. The latest offering joins Fino’s already extensive array of sumptuous cuisine available throughout the day. The Cheese Bar is open in the evening from Wednesday to Saturday, with reservations available from 5pm-9pm. cheesebar.co.nz

Having swaddled discerning slumberers the world over, M.M. Linen has brought its luxury wares to Christchurch and the home town of its owner. Check out the new Normans Road, Elmwood store and feast your eyes on bed linen and homewares that will drape your home in sophistication. M.M. Linen’s team of artists take inspiration from the rich and lush colours of nature to design botanical collections of bed linen, cushions, sleepwear, throws and more. The beautiful vintage bedrooms of Europe are the guiding vision. From simple pure linen to intricately embroidered cotton and velvets, the room collections are romantic, soft and dreamy. Across the range, quality comes in 300 thread count sateen. If you want more, there’s a new boutique collection of 600 thread count bamboo cotton. There are over 100 different cushions to choose from to complement the range, with stunning prints, a variety of organic and luxe fabrics and...

After three years and as many cancellations, The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Venus Rising programme is coming to feature four works by amazing female choreographers. Cityscape talks career and choreography with Alice Topp, the creator of Aurum. Fourth time lucky for Venus Rising and Aurum! Why has the RNZB stuck by this performance, while others have been consigned to the losses of Covid-19? I think what’s special about the story we’re telling in Aurum is that it’s all about changing the way we see imperfections and learning to embrace our scars, bruises and history and find a way to see these perceived flaws as part of what makes us beautifully human. The past couple of years have been difficult and have thrown us a swell of emotion and I think this piece will only grow in its relatability. I think there’s no better to time to share a work like this...

Three Boys Brewery recently took home the big Champion Exhibitor award, as well as 12 medals and a trophy at the New Zealand Beer Awards. Cityscape caught up with boss man Ralph Bungard. How did it feel to be awarded champion? It felt amazing! The Brewers’ Guild Beer Awards is a really big deal in our NZ industry. It’s the only awards where you really get to put yourself up for comparison to all the brewers in Aotearoa. To win anything on the night is an honour and something that brewers in New Zealand really look to judge where they are at in terms of beer quality. On the night we were just so excited about all the medals that we had received for the beers that we entered in the competition that we weren’t really concentrating when it came to the big one at the end of the night. To...

Thrills, spills and speed – what’s not to like! Fan Village tickets for the NZ Sail Grand Prix on Whakaraupō, Lyttelton Harbour in March 2023 sold out in a day but there are plenty of other good viewing spots on the Port Hills and across the water in Diamond Harbour. There will also be a free fan zone site on the grass in front of Te Pae, in the central city, offering big-screen viewing of live race coverage on the two racing days, March 18 and 19. Only 5000 Fan Village tickets went on sale on October 4 and just like the corporate hospitality and Platinum Lawn tickets before them, they went fast. Organisers tweeted late on the day that all ticket categories were sold out. Unfolding over two action-packed days, the event marks SailGP’s New Zealand debut and Event Director Karl Budge says fans are in for a treat. “SailGP...

Jane Austen, Billy T James, teen angst and political drama are all part of the compelling collection of plays that will take to the boards during the Ryman Healthcare 2023 Season at The Court Theatre. Six of the plays are written or adapted by New Zealand authors in a season that boasts a new Court Theatre commission. With several New Zealand premieres and even an Australasian premiere on the calendar, The Court is truly bringing the ‘new’ to this season. “We have shaped a season of truly compelling storytelling, designed to reflect and include the diverse audiences of Ōtautahi Christchurch and Aotearoa,” says Chief Executive Barbara George. “All will entertain you. Some may amuse you; others might give you pause to think or even shock you a little, but together they provide something for everyone to enjoy or relate to.” For Artistic Director Dr Alison Walls, “This season is about creating memorable,...

The line-up is out and presales are open – time to lock in your tickets for Christchurch’s Electric Avenue music festival. Headliners Lorde and Flume will join 50 other artists performing across five stages on February 25 in Hagley Park. Get amongst the expected 30,000 rockers, ravers and dub heads for a day of bangers, sick beats and sunshine. Other acts include L.A.B, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Supergroove and Teeks, as well as international artists including Peking Duk and Future Islands. The spectacular Synthony show will make its debut festival appearance, and a UK drum & bass headliner will be announced in November. Since the inaugural event in 2015, Electric Avenue has established a reputation as Christchurch’s biggest day out. The festival is New Zealand’s largest one-day music event. Electric Avenue is the only full festival appearance in New Zealand planned by Lorde and is part of her world tour promoting her...

One of the new kids on Christchurch’s cultural circuit, Cube Art Gallery has a real treat on show at its home in the repurposed Duncan Building on High Street. The Masterworks Collection brings a taste of internationally renowned fine art to Ōtautahi, Christchurch. Giclées of famous works by world-renowned masters, including Rembrandt, Monet, Renoir and John Singer Sargent, grace the gallery’s walls. The reproductions are mostly actual size (or near to) and feature works that will inspire and intrigue. Gallery director Paul Rees says that for many Kiwis, it’s a rite of passage to visit the great galleries of the world and view works that have shaped the history of art and chronicled moments of social, political and spiritual consequence through the ages. “But lockdowns and border closures have made travel increasingly difficult lately, so we decided to bring the next best thing right here to Christchurch.” Many of the works...

English superstar Netia Jones is directing NZ Opera’s Macbeth… and she’s also designing the set, costumes and video projection. Cityscape grabs her in a rare free moment to talk Shakespeare, Verdi, and modern tech. It seems you’re doing everything in this show except writing the theme tune. How do you manage all of that? Because I work with a studio called Lightmap, and that means that I have a team of super talented freelancers that I work with and so it makes it possible to do the directing and designing roles as one thing. And also when you’re making an opera, the things happen in stages. An opera is planned sometimes up to four years, but at least two years in advance. The set happens, and then the costumes happen, and then the video happens and then there’s the rehearsals. It’s totally doable, and the reason for doing it is, it...

All the entertainment you'll need for the spring season on the small and big screens, plus books to lose yourself in, new albums to rock out to, and podcasts to enlighten. Viewing on the big screen Hocus Pocus 2 - It's been an absolute Halloween classic for nearly 30 years, and now the delightfully wicked Sanderson sisters are back to put a spell on us all over again. This time around, it’s three high school students who make the mistake of bringing the child-hungry witches to modern-day Salem, and must then try to stop them from wreaking havoc in their quest for revenge. Thirteen Lives - Our hearts were in our mouths back in 2018 as we watched the events unfold on the news, and now Thirteen Lives puts us right at the heart of the miraculous Tham Luang cave rescue. A team of Thai Navy SEALs, cavers, divers and locals...