Stories

Iconic inner-city department store Ballantynes have opened their stunning new retail space and it’s packed full of wow factor. Step inside and discover some chic European influence throughout, with a spectacular three-storey atrium at the intersection of the old and new – this is where you’ll find the oh-so-cool deli, café and wine bar Kin. The shiny, new 2,800 square metre homewares department is drenched in natural light and will bring all your design dreams to life with exclusive-to-NZ brands Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and West Elm. These upscale US brands will bring a touch of difference to the homewares on offer in town and will leave your home looking at its best. Pottery Barn specialise in casual, comfortable and classy home furnishings – they have a timeless design aesthetic and will provide inspo for every room. Pottery Barn Kids’ designs create child-friendly, snazzy and innovative spaces for the nursery,...

Cityscape brings you all the deets for Addington Cup Week, the biggest week on Christchurch’s social calendar. We have tips for picking a winner as well as pacing yourself on the 116th Christchurch Casino NZ Trotting Cup Day, the inside word from the fashion judges on what they are looking for, and we catch up with the artists who will keep the vibe pumping between races. Hang on to your fascinators, everything is lined up and ready to race for Addington Cup Week. The season’s hottest social event is this year set to be the most stylish yet. Join the city’s crème de la crème at Addington Raceway & Events Centre when the action kicks off on Tuesday November 12 with Christchurch Casino NZ Trotting Cup Day and continues on the Friday with Show Day Races. On the day, a full card of 12 races culminates in the 116th running of...

Kiwi R&B-pop artist Vince Harder will be breaking out the hits on the Lindauer Lawn between races at the Christchurch Casino NZ Trotting Cup Day. What you have been up to recently? I have just got back from touring with Guy Sebastian on his sold-out Australian tour. Any plans to return to the recording studio soon? I’m always in the studio! But I’m definitely working on another single release, if not before the end of the year then early next. What’s on the cards for 2020? It’s looking pretty good so far. I’m planning on writing and releasing more original music and also focusing on more live performances throughout New Zealand and Australia. Tell us about your first gig? I think my first ever proper gig was at the music festival Parachute. I formed my own band with a really lame name and started writing and performing originals. I had just...

Nostalgia Festival will take over Ferrymead Heritage Park’s 1890s replica township for the seventh year on Saturday February 15, 2020. The funky street fest will feature an eclectic mix of artists across three stages, featuring acts from around New Zealand and beyond. Cityscape has all the juicy deets! Headlining the boutique festival will be multi award-winning and globally celebrated singer, writer and producer Ladyhawke. She will be joined by some killer acts including Lord Echo, Troy Kingi, Holly Arrowsmith, Delaney Davidson and Barry Saunders, Tiny Ruins, Marlin’s Dreaming, Mermaidens, Mousey, Archer and Flora Knight, Skyscraper Stan, Ever Lovin’ Jug Band, Beacon Bloom, Eyes Down Sound, Pikachunes, Hauswerk and MUDD. Keep an ear out because there’s more acts to be announced, too! The broad range of musical styles will appeal to a diverse crowd – festival founder Johnny Gibson says, “The range of acts for the 2020 festival is unprecedented, from the...

Killer micro-brewery and taproom The Fermentist have a new brew that will have your taste-buds zinging – their Kiwi Pale Ale. The KPA is the first certified carboNZero beer – this means sustainable packaging and that every single emission, from the fertiliser used to grow the grain to refrigeration at your home, is measured and accounted for. Simon Taylor, general manager of The Fermentist, says, “For the relatively small footprint the beer still makes, we are offsetting it against restorative forestry projects like that at the local Hinewai Reserve on Canterbury’s Banks Peninsula. We’ve also developed a strategy to ensure we reduce the KPA’s carbon footprint each year.” You can expect some serious flavours with Southern Cross and Motueka hops balanced with 100 percent NZ malt – meaning you’ll get a full flavour without any lingering bitterness. Offering more than just a taste sensation, The Fermentist have partnered with Kiwi DJ...

Spoiler alert – Jojo Rabbit is all about learning to tie your own shoelaces. The simplest of repeated motifs provides the narrative thread that holds together a remarkable film that surely cements Taika Waititi as one of the most talented artists working in modern cinema, as a director and as an actor. The audience’s applause at the end of last night’s premiere was a spontaneous salute to an artist at the top of his game. His deft touch as a director is clear in the remarkable performances he coaxes from his young leads, Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo) and Thomasin McKenzie, as the young Jewish girl hiding in the attic of fervent young Nazi Jojo. And his increasingly unhinged Adolf Hitler – Jojo’s imaginary friend – shifts from comic to terrifying as the war gets closer and closer. Just as Tarantino’s Django Unchained portrayed almost in passing the brutal day-to-day reality of...

Get your green thumbs ready, Cityscapers – come March 2020 we will have a garden festival again. The inaugural Christchurch Garden Festival GROW Ō Tautahi, launched tonight, will transform the Botanic Gardens and Ilex complex into a vibrant, contemporary celebration of the region’s love of gardens, design and outdoor living. From March 20 – 22, the free festival, presented by Lincoln University, will host botanical displays, exhibition gardens, panel discussions, workshops and master-classes. Food maestro Jax Hamilton and celebrated restaurateur Jonny Schwass will lead cooking demonstrations with guest chefs, award-winning landscape designer Dan Rutherford will share his years of experience in creating beautiful outdoor spaces, Dr Trevor Stuthridge and his team from AgResearch will present their research on evolving technologies, and beginner gardening enthusiast Julia Atkinson-Dunn will host panel discussions on what’s new in gardening, and what to do when things don’t quite go to plan. “Grow Ō Tautahi celebrates the...

October brings longer daylight hours and more time to enjoy all that is on offer. Art lovers will rejoice as SCAPE launch their 2019 season, transforming the city into a home for the temporary contemporary. You can also catch street art party Highlight. Jump on your bike as Biketober rolls into town, or get your zen on at this year’s Body Mind Spirit – Health Expo. Quench your thirst with Oktoberfest, or indulge in some locally grown drops at Taste North Canterbury. Discover local history with the Beca Christchurch Heritage Festival. Black Books fans are in for treat as Dylan Moran takes to the stage, and you can get your music fix with Postmodern Jukebox. SCAPE Public Art This year’s six-week season of SCAPE Public Art’s exhibition is sure to inspire and delight you. Outdoor spaces throughout the city will become home to more than a dozen contemporary artworks from local...

Would you believe us if we said Christchurch now boasts 48 kilometres of dedicated cycleways? Well it’s true, and we’re absolutely fizzing. The city has bred more than 10 kilometres of fresh cycleway since Cityscape last checked in, meaning there’s now a path into town from most parts of this humming city. You can check out what’s changed below. Save money, save the planet and join us as we rediscover our city from the saddle. 1. Uni-Cycle University of Canterbury Campus to City Centre – 6kmDon your helmet and jump on your bike to make the most of the spring weather as you traverse the tree-lined cycleways through the university campus. This is a fab ride for the whole family, which has a couple of must-see, must-do places where you can hit the pause button and enjoy the gifts of Mother Nature along the way. First up you’ll find Riccarton Bush. Saturday is...

Welsh mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins is returning to Christchurch, where she last performed in 2011 in a post-earthquake charity concert with Plácido Domingo. She tells Cityscape she’s looking forward to checking in on the rebuild. You have performed for the Queen and for the Pope, at the Rugby World Cup and in Afghanistan for British troops – has there been a favourite? It’s really hard to pick a favourite. So many were on my bucket list, like singing for the Welsh rugby team or at the Sydney Opera House. Being asked to sing for Her Majesty the Queen is just totally surreal and doing the war zones – which definitely wasn’t something I dreamed of as a child – have been some of my best and proudest memories. What piqued your interest in a career in opera? I come from a very normal background in Wales. My parents never played classical...

The local musicians we can’t get enough of. RUSE Having his song ‘Bring the Bomb Squad’ chosen for the RDU Singles Club was another win off the back of a series of highs for local producer Ruse. He’s performed at some of Aotearoa’s biggest music festivals (Bay Dreams, Rhythm & Alps), represented New Zealand on the world stage in renowned turntable competitions and opened for his heroes. More recently, he released his EP Fragments. Ruse says he’s most proud of the way Fragments highlights his “progress and direction as a producer”. Releasing it on one of his favourite labels – Saturate Records – is something he won’t get over any time soon, either. “It still blows my mind,” he says. Gear limitations allowed him to explore his equipment more and in his words, trying to get as much as you can out of a single source “forces experimentation and creativity”. ADAM...

Grammy-nominated singer and blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa is returning to New Zealand and we couldn’t be happier. The guitarist has released 15 solo albums and secured his reputation as one of the best blues players alive. Rock out with Bonamassa at the Christchurch Town Hall on September 25. jbonamassa.com

Just two months after performing alongside local icon Delaney Davidson as part of the Christchurch Arts Festival, Tami Neilson is returning. Neilson is bringing her This Is Tami Neilson! tour down to the 03, where she’ll delight fans with her unique blend of soul, country and rockabilly. See her at The Piano on October 19, 2019. thepiano.nz

Get your spook on at the first annual Fiddler’s Green Halloween Masquerade. The winery, in the picturesque Waipara Valley, will be turned into a trick-or-treaters dream with carnival games during the day for the kids and a hauntingly good band when the sun goes down and the vampires come out. There’s a prize for the most bone-chilling costume and a $10 food and refreshment coupon if you arrive in costume. A shuttle bus will be available on the night, stopping at various locations throughout the city for a safe way there and back to your labyrinth. Lyttelton band The Preservatives will rock you as they re-jig some of your favourite songs along with some improvised jams, funky breakdowns and stand-alone originals. The energetic five-piece band are willing to push the boundaries of their music and have fun while they do it, so brush up on your ‘Thriller’ dance moves and get...

Time to mark your diary and book the milliner – Addington Cup Week, the season’s hottest social event, is coming. Join the city’s crème de la crème at Addington Raceway & Events Centre. The action kicks off on Tuesday November 12 with Christchurch Casino NZ Trotting Cup Day and continues on the Friday with Show Day Races. Cup Day will be a toast to Christchurch Casino’s 25th anniversary. Punters can dress to the nines and participate in a high-octane day of racing and revelry. A full card of 11 races culminates in the 116th running of the Christchurch Casino NZ Trotting Cup. In between the trotting excitement, there’s fabulous fashions on the catwalk, with The Crossing Fashion Starts Here Best Dressed Competition. Tickets are on sale now. General admission will get you to the heart of the action, or you can treat yourself to the Lindauer Lawn, where you’ll gain access...

A good night out might be the only thing that stops your staff from quitting. We’re not saying they’ll definitely quit if you don’t book Grandpa Figs, but is it really worth the risk? As the South Island’s biggest promoter of comedy, Grandpa Figs have years of experience making people laugh. They have a huge range of performers and venues, and options include stand-up, quizzes, games nights and custom events. Grandpa Figs is your home of comedy in Christchurch. FB/GrandpaFigs

Country music royalty Kris Kristofferson is bringing his emotive songs and sweet Southern drawl back to Christchurch on October 9. Me and Bobby McGee, Help Me Make It Through The Night, Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down – you name it, he’ll be singing it. Kristofferson will take to the Town Hall stage with The Strangers. kriskristofferson.com

SCAPE Public Art has delivered its biggest lineup ever. Get ready to be surprised by artworks inspired by the theme Rock : Paper : Scissors – everything from sculpture and photography to audio installations and stunning neon lights. The six-week season starts on October 5, 2019. scapepublicart.org.nz KA MUA KA MURI, 2019 – KAZU NAKAGAWA Tokyo-born sculptor Kazu Nakagawa – who calls Waiheke Island home – will wow when one of his works takes up residence in Market Square at the Arts Centre. Ka Mua Ka Muri links Mother Nature’s architecture to art. Nakagawa’s practice is informed by his philosophical beliefs. THE POOL, 2018-2019 – NATALIE GUY Kiwi Natalie Guy’s diving board installation, which is heading for the corner of Cambridge Terrace and Hereford Street, is sure to stop passers-by in their tracks. Stripped of its core business as a launching pad, Guy says the diving board “becomes a surreal, redundant...