Stories

Whether you’re into North Canterbury Riesling, Central Otago Pinot Noir, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Nelson Chardonnay or something a bit more specialised, let the wine tour come to you. The South Island Wine & Food Festival is bringing the best of the mainland’s world-class wine regions to Hagley Park on December 5. Match the wine with a selection of locally-made foods of all colours and cuisines. Live entertainment includes music from Zed, Sons of Zion, Tami Neilson, Holly Arrowsmith and Mousey. There is also a selection of featured experiences including wine matching, fresh fish plates, foraged foods and artisan cheeses. Take your day to the next level with a reservation for the VIP area, where dedicated VIP hosts treat you to gourmet food, served to your table. The all-day menu is expertly matched with prestigious wines from the festival's boutique exhibitors, with Monteith's beer, cider and a selection of non-alcoholic beverages also...

Start laying down your 2021 plans Kiwi music lovers, SIX60 have announced a Christchurch show as part of an Aotearoa-wide tour.  This is set to be another groundbreaking tour for the multi-platinum selling band who recently sold over 130,000 tickets to their Saturdays tour just earlier this year. This time, they're extending their schedule to new cities and large outdoor venues, including Hagley Park in Christchurch, so you can enjoy home-grown tunes in the heat of our long summer nights. At their Christchurch gig, they'll be joined by Drax Project, Dave Dobbyn, Broods, Maimoa in a 100% Kiwi artist line up. It's a unique chance to see some of our A-List artists up on the big stage again and catch debut performances from some of our hottest new acts! Fans at each gig will be treated to the first live performance of some of SIX60’s latest material. The band have been...

A huge congratulations to all the fine Canterbury establishments and hospitality personalities who made the finals of the Canterbury Hospitality Awards this year. Cityscape has your run-down of who's made the finals in which category. The awards, presented by the Restaurant Association of New Zealand pick out top local food, wine and local food producers and recognise industry champions. The 22 awards will go to the best of the Canterbury hospitality industry, as voted by their peers on Monday 2 November. Don't forget, if you're in the hospitality industry you can have your say and vote on these finalists. Meadow Fresh Outsanding Barista Angus Robson, Child Sister Fumihiko Takai, Espresso Studio by Fushoken Mitch Barnard, Grain Coffee and Eatery Katie Eldridge, Little Poms Coca-Cola Amatil Outstanding Bartender Ben Edwards, O.G.B. Bar & Cocktail Lounge Toby Eaton, Sawyer Harry Findlay, The Glasshouse Charles Guillotine Gillet, The Last Word Ara Institute of Canterbury...

The comedy carnival is now in its fifth year and features the very best of local and national stand-up talent. The line up this year includes big local names such as Sausage Sizzle, Cameron McLeod and Jadwiga. Events will take place across live act hotspots Good Times Comedy Club, Space Academy, Darkroom, and 12 Bar. Tim Batt, one half of The Worst Idea of All Time, New Zealand’s most successful podcast ever, makes fun of the apocalypse in his stand-up show, Could Be Better, while two of Aotearoa’s most well-established comics, Nick Rado and Tarun Mohanbhai are bringing their new world class hour of stand up to Good Times. The comedy carnival was established in 2015 by production company Grandpa Figs. Snap, the man behind Grandpa Figs and the Good Times Comedy Club had a mission to support Ōtautahi’s burgeoning comedy culture and an insatiable appetite for a bloody good laugh....

New Zealand’s biggest vegan event is back in Christchurch this year, bringing tasty planet-friendly treats to the masses. Organisers call it “the Big Day Out of vegan food festivals”, but unlike the Big Day Out, the Vegan Expo is only getting stronger. Originally launched in 2007, the Vegan Expo has been bringing delicious plant-based temptations, cruelty-free stalls and inspiring talks to anyone interested in following or finding out about the vegan diet. Head along and you’ll find live local music, cooking demos, inspiring not-for-profit groups to chat to, documentaries, feature films and shorts to watch, as well as a range of experts ready to share their vegan experiences with you. Then there’s the food. If you still think vegan food is all about salad, pop into the expo and have your mind changed. You’ll find delicious burgers, sushi, Chinese dumplings, Egyptian street food, platters of Moroccan goodies and a load of...

The Court Theatre doesn’t often let the public roam around backstage, so take this special opportunity to see what’s behind your favourite stage shows. After losing its home of 35 years to the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake, the Court Theatre moved to what’s been affectionately dubbed “The Shed” in Addington. It’s a whopping space, originally a grain silo, which means that everything can happen on site – set building, scenery painting, costume and prop making, as well as performances. Occasionally, the Court Theatre opens its doors to backstage tours for the public, and there’s one taking place in November. The tours are led by a member of The Court Theatre team who shares stories of past performances, and gives you a taste of what really happens behind the scenes. If you’re fascinated by the theatre, don’t miss this opportunity to for an up-close look. Public tours only happen a few times a...

Cityscape talks style, sustainability and spring with Untouched World founder Peri Drysdale. You’ve had a strong sustainability focus for a long time. What does sustainability mean to you? In a nutshell, working to protect the future of our planet and its people while meeting the needs of today. This has to be a holistic focus – environmental, social, cultural issues are all interconnected and can’t be solved independently of each other. What are the latest sustainable initiatives you’ve been working on? We have been on our sustainable journey for 20 years now, and over that time we’ve put a lot of work into finding and developing the most sustainable fabrics and fibres and walking the talk when it comes to best practice in terms of our design and manufacturing process. One issue that is still a biggie for us is all the plastic in our environment. It bugs us that we...

It’s road trip season and Cityscape has its eye on two spacious upcoming releases from BMW and MINI that are perfect for loading up the boot and heading for the hills (or the beach). MINI Countryman MINI has unveiled its new Countryman – the company’s biggest and most versatile model for those who want to explore and look incredibly cool doing it. Styling updates to the bumpers and interior are topped off with new rear light graphics tracing the outline of the signature Union Jack motif. The new MINI Countryman is available with a choice of three TwinPower Turbo petrol engines: three-cylinder petrol, 131kW four-cylinder petrol, or a super-quick and efficient electric/petrol hybrid that hits 100 in 6.8 seconds. See it in stores this October. christchurchminigarage.co.nz BMW M3 Touring BMW has confirmed a five-door M3 Touring is on the way. The high-performance wagon-style prototype promises space for kids, pets, luggage and...

SCAPE Public Art is adorning Christchurch’s city centre with thought-provoking pieces under this year’s theme Secrets and Lies. Get ready to play detective and uncover hidden meanings in this selection of artworks made by local and national artists. Cityscape has a teaser of some of the artworks on show for the six-week season starting October 3. on an east wind, 2020 – Melissa MacLeod New Brighton sculptor, photographer and performance artist Melissa MacLeod has captured and compressed air from the former QEII site in large bags, giving visible form to this otherwise intangible environment. They will be installed in the Awly Building in the city centre, linking that space with the east side of Ōtautahi, and drawing on the social and geographical conditions of post-colonial, post-quake Christchurch. The Real World, 2020 – Dane Mitchell Dane Mitchell is erecting the steel armature – the supports used to hold a skeleton in a...

The good folks at Hōhepa Canterbury are building amazing, light-filled, architecturally-designed homes to support people with intellectual disabilities living their best lives. Hōhepa homes aren’t just places to live. They’re communities that help their residents flourish. The non-profit organisation is raising money to build two new projects: gorgeous homes designed to accentuate the rhythms of daily life and nature, to bring in natural light and ventilation, and generally be rockin’ places for twelve new residents to live. Thanks to its supportive community and great reputation, Hōhepa is experiencing more and more demand, with a waiting list of people looking for a place to call home. That’s where you come in. Supporters can make an online donation toward the fitout of the new homes, funding homewares, beds and mobility aids. The Hōhepa Canterbury team need $2.2 million to finish the projects. Local trusts have already contributed $1 million, and between all of...

Help! My borders have been breached! Are allergies starting to niggle at your nose? Your gut might be fighting off its own invasion. Deirdre Panapa from DP Herbals explains. Leaky gut sounds like a pretty scary condition, but there are herbs and nutrients that can help to restore a leaky barrier in your gut, and fixing this problem might provide a long-term solution for your allergies. An allergic reaction occurs when your immune system overacts to something harmless, like pollen or dust mites. Your immune system sets off an inflammatory reaction, which sends those nasty allergic symptoms skyrocketing. We would normally then turn to antihistamines, but they’re just an expensive, temporary fix. Maintaining a healthy gut can support your immune system and may help you build tolerance to those otherwise-harmless allergic triggers, providing a lasting solution to allergic conditions. Gut inflammation can occur when your gut barrier becomes permeable or ‘leaky’....

Veronica King, the queen of Grassroots Yoga & Health, explains just what yoga nidra is, and how this semi-sleeping state of consciousness can benefit us. Yoga nidra is a guided meditation practice designed to drop you into a deeply relaxed state. Often translated as ‘yogic sleep’, it follows the biological process of sleep and slows the brainwaves down to the alpha and theta states, and with practice, to the delta state. It’s a series of structured awareness techniques that optimise physical recovery and interrupt stressful thoughts. It’s generally practiced lying down, and anyone can do it – no prior yoga or meditation experience required. All yoga nidra asks is that you do nothing other than listen and let go of all effort – the hardest part is staying awake. There are different styles of yoga nidra, and ultimately all expressions of this practice support psychological, physical and spiritual healing. Just like...

Go extraordinary for your next big event. Here are a couple of Cityscape’s recommended off-the-beaten-path venues you might not know about, from the central city to North Canterbury. Pegasus Bay Winery The Donaldson family’s iconic Pegasus Bay Winery restaurant and breathtaking gardens are available to host private events for the first time in almost 20 years. This pioneering North Canterbury winery is widely regarded as one of the leading producers of fine wine in the region, turning out top drops with a truly distinctive house style. Pegasus Bay’s premium event space is perfect for picturesque weddings, milestone celebrations and corporate events. pegasusbay.com The Tack Rooms This boutique accommodation and function space is a springboard for living it up in the heart of Christchurch. The Tack Rooms are just two rooms – former army barracks – beautifully presented and available for individual or joint use as an event venue. The creative minds...

Entrepreneurs Mizuki Azai and Olexiy Meshechko have developed an online food ordering system to get any food for any event. Cityscape hits them up for details on their catering breakthrough. How did your careers lead you to the catering industry?Mizuki: I had been working as an administrator for corporate organisations including a government organisation, being in charge of a variety of tasks to support teams and customers. My favourite part of the day-to-day tasks had always been arranging catering for my teams. I really enjoyed people relying on me about catering arrangements.Olexiy: I have a background in software development, process improvement and education in large corporates in New Zealand. My relation to catering is I was mostly eating it while attending meetings and conferences or delivering training presentations, and was always curious about who organises it and how. These days there's a platform for most industries, from recruitment to international trades,...

We’re looking up from the captivity of screens to see a wonderful world of analogue alternatives. Real books, handmade homeware and off-grid experiences are everywhere, ready for us to reach out and grab them. The analogue rebellion started, quietly at first, with hipsters buying film cameras and the wine sippers attending mindful painting and home baking classes. During lockdown, Netflix bingeing was through the roof, but so were sales of knitting needles, power tools and real books, with that lovely bookish smell. Now we’re out and about once more, the analogue rebellion is forging ahead. We’re craving screen-free fun with our real-life friends, shopping for beneficial bits and bobs sold to us by the craftspeople that make them, and looking for books to fill the ‘rustic’ bookshelves we upcycled using old pallets and the decade-old box of nails in the garage. Christchurch has some wonderful opportunities to scratch those itches. The...

Too long have gamers been repressed by matte black headsets and grey mice, but no more. The Logitech G Colour Collection is a range of coloured headsets, mice and keyboards designed to celebrate self-expression and tap into gamers’ style and individuality. Further personalise the high-quality wireless headsets with colourful straps, mic covers and two customisable light zones. The gaming mouse is available in the same four colours as the headset, and the keyboard has fully customisable per-key lighting across the full rainbow of colours. We’re not saying you may never be satisfied with accessories in standard black again, but we’re not not saying that, either. Win! Cityscape has a black Logitech G733 headset with front-facing coloured lighting, and two Logitech G203 mice in blue or lilac to give away, adding some serious cred and unique personality to your setup. To enter the draw, head over to our wins page. Entries close...

All you budding Freddies can get on your bikes and ride in Christchurch’s month-long cycling festival, back this October with more than 40 events. Get active and join a community with group rides, workshops, social sessions and public talks. Now in its fourth year, this annual cycling extravaganza is for anyone who rides a bike or wants to give it a go. It’s your opportunity to step into the saddle, feel the joy of biking and explore Christchurch on two wheels. Gamify your exploration with the Biketober passport challenge, where you can win prizes by cycling to destinations around the city and checking in with your smartphone. Cityscape has picked out a few choice events, and you can see the full peloton of cycling experiences on the Biketober website. Festival top picks The Big Bike Film Night Get along to this cycling-centric movie night, packed with everything a good film fest...

Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate is freaking delicious. Cityscape's favourite is the milk chocolate and caramel sea salt, and the dark chocolate almond sea salt is pretty sensational too. It’s just landed on the shelves at Ballantynes. After three Dutch journalists discovered in 2005 that the world’s largest chocolate manufacturers were supporting illegal child labour and modern slavery, they created Tony’s Chocolonely, a now-beloved 100% slave-free chocolate brand. Tony's Chocolonely works in direct, long-term partnerships with cocoa farmers in Ghana and Ivory Coast and has a completely transparent and traceable bean to bar process. One percent of Tony's Chocolonely's net revenue is donated to the Chocolonely Foundation, supporting projects to eradicate modern slavery in the cocoa chain. cookandnelson.com