Summertimes

Well, summer in Christchurch is finally crawling to its end, and so does Summertimes.

"What is Summertimes?" I hear you ask. Well, it's just a whole bunch of events, festivals, concerts, yada yada yada, that happen in summer. The Christchurch City Council markets them all together as Summertimes.

Some of the stuff is a bit... *yawn*... boring. But most of it is great.

We have certain events that we go to EVERY. SINGLE. YEAR.


One of them is the World Busker's Festival.

Fantastic stuff! Free entertainment! Hilarious antics! Special shows just for the kids, as well as special night-time shows JUST for the adults (heh heh heh...).

Of course, as I said, it's free... but remember that they're buskers - this is what they do for a living. The council pays for their airfares and accommodation (altogether now! Y! M! C! A!) but they have to beg off the audience for their paychecks. (We're a bit stingy in our household but the kids do love to throw a couple of coins in the busker's hat - it's all part of the experience.)

So, the Busking Festival is a must-see. It happens every year in Christchurch in mid-January. Check out the website for more details.


What else? Oh, there's a myriad of other things to do and see. We used to go to the Teddy Bear's Picnic until the year we lost our 2 year old son in the 10,000 strong crowd. It was a tense 25 minutes, I tell you. Teddy bears or not, we've never been again.

The Culture Galore festival at Ray Blank Park is always another must-see in our household, both for the extraordinary array of cultures exhibiting (who knew that so many different nationalities resided in whiter-than-white ol' Christchurch???) and the fact that Ray Blank Park is only a block from Grandma's house. But seriously - the kids had a great time, and when you have a Free Bouncy Castle and Free Face Painting on offer (amongst other Free Stuff), what more could you ask for?


And finally, the other Fave Festival is the Chinese Lantern Festival, held every Chinese New Year in Victoria Square. This year it was a bit of a wash-out, but last year's event was spectacular. One word 0f warning though - hold on to your children's hands VERY TIGHTLY. Better still - carry them. The crowds were so dense that I was seriously worried that we would be crushed or suffocated. (Maybe in this respect the rained out event was better after all.)


These are just a few of the many things on offer in Christchurch during the summer. Take a look at the Summertimes website to check them out.

And if you're just wondering "What's on this week in Christchurch?" then have a squizz at the Be There website. Plenty of things to see and do. You can even get a weekly newsletter emailed to you to let you know what's happening so that you don't miss a thing.

Have fun!

The library!

Some people might think that the thing I'm about to suggest is about as exciting as watching paint dry, and for them that may just be the case. (I'm also surprised that these people can read are reading this at all, but there you have it.)

We LOVE visiting the library. Myself and the kids visit at least weekly. We have a card each, each cardholder is able to take out up to 20 items a time, and so we're usually walking out of the local library each week laden down with 60 books/DVDs/posters/videos in several carrier bags.

If you have preschoolers then the Storytime sessions are a great source of free entertainment for an hour each week. For parents who're bored stiff and know no other parents, they're also a great way to meet new people. (I should know - nearly all of my best friends were collected at the library).

Once a month the Storytime hour is taken over by a Music and Movement hour - again, totally free and great fun for the little ones.

If your little ones are REALLY little ones (i.e. under 2) then there's also Babytimes - these are monthly sessions and even sometimes end with a laid-on morning tea, with the emphasis on the parents getting to know each other.

I *heart* our libraries!


Christchurch has a huge number of libraries, and just about every suburb has easy access to one. Some are in stunning locations - I have spent many a relaxing half hour reading magazines while sitting on the sea-view seats looking out over the Pacific Ocean at the New Brighton Library.

Libraries are no longer all about books - on a rainy day you'll find plenty of people playing computer games, surfing the net, reading magazines, and even playing Playstation games (only in some libraries!). You can borrow movies (kids' ones are free!), posters, CD roms, talking books, puzzles and more.

If you have preschoolers, and are at a loose end, then try to find a Storytime session. Relaxing, easy, back to basics stuff.


Library locations in Christchurch:

Central, Bishopdale, Halswell, Fendalton, Hornby, Linwood, Lyttelton, New Brighton, Papanui, Parklands, Redwood, Shirley, South, Spreydon, Sumner, Upper Riccarton.

For Storytimes session details visit here.