Colors of Christchurch - traditions, festivals, mentality and lifestyle

A ten-day festival of street musicians takes place in the city in January. This event is quite large-scale and world-famous. Thirty thousand singers, dancers, jugglers, acrobats, mimes, and magicians come to the relatively small Christchurch in the middle of winter. The streets of the city turn into a huge stage for a while. Residents and tourists become spectators of street art demonstrations, which is one of the largest. You can see performances of street singers in various directions of modern music, incendiary dances, and illusionist shows here. You will find something to see here.

Ellerslie International Flower Show is quite an interesting event. It is customary to equate it with the largest European Chelsea Flower Show. A carpet of flowers is the main decoration of the event. It is located in Christchurch Cathedral. This is the main cathedral of the city. The procedure for creating a masterpiece of floristry is quite time-consuming. It takes almost two days of continuous work of several dozen designers. The festival itself runs from mid-February to mid-March. It includes not only an exhibition of the achievements of local floriculture but also a demonstration of the latest trends in the fashion of landscape design, such as floating gardens.

If you have long wanted to plunge into carousing and luxury but did not find a reason to do so, you should go to Christchurch during New Zealand Cup and Show Week. This is a week of horse races, exhibitions, noisy parties, and fashion shows. Dozens of wine tastings are held in the city at this time. Restaurants are eager to impress residents and visitors with new creations of chefs. Music doesn't stop in pubs and bars until morning. Interestingly, New Zealand Cup and Show Week is not a private initiative but a city Council event. It suggested combining horse racing, fashion shows, and exhibitions into one event back in 2004. This was done to attract more tourists to the city. It worked. More than 190,000 people attended the latest New Zealand Cup and Show Week. Of course, the New Zealand Cup race is the central event of the week. This is not just a sporting event. It attracts sophisticated fans or passionate players who want to get rich from bookmakers. This is also an important date for city socialites. It is customary to wear the best outfits to the races, pick up jewelry, and demonstrate wealth and status in every possible way. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

A fairly large-scale event called the Christchurch Arts Festival takes place in the city in July. Musicians, singers, and composers from all over New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and America come here at this time. The festival is very popular with theater groups. You can visit both classical productions and performances of artists of modern genres in the city at this time. Often performances are very extravagant. Any visitor to the festival will be able to find something interesting for themselves thanks to the huge variety of art trends presented – from folk music to graffiti and live sculptures.

Lyttelton Harbour Festival of Lights is also interesting. You can watch the art throughout the festival. You can also create a variety of pictures and stories using lighting. Of course, most of the most beautiful shows take place after sunset during the Lyttelton Harbour Festival of Lights. But you can also attend masterclasses and exhibitions throughout the day. They are dedicated to the difficult art of illumination.

Airplane enthusiasts just need to attend the annual Wigram-Classics Airshow in March. Quite large-scale celebrations are held in Christchurch also during the European New Year. It is always celebrated here, even though the island has a hot summer at this time instead of a snowy winter. You can meet dancers and musicians in traditional Maori dress on the city streets on February 6. Waitangi Day is celebrated at this time. This is the anniversary of the signing of a peace treaty between the colonists and the local population. Costumed performances are organized for tourists and residents. They are dedicated to the events of that time.

Christian Easter is also celebrated in the city. A day dedicated to the memory of all those who died in world wars is celebrated in Christchurch on April 25. The birthday of the current Queen of Great Britain is also celebrated here. The locals respect her very much. Labor Day is celebrated on the third Monday in October. All major European holidays like Valentine's Day or Halloween are celebrated here. Halloween is especially popular among young people. They prefer to spend All Saints' Night in the city's night clubs. Catholic Christmas is also celebrated on a grand scale in Christchurch.