Christchurch Sunday January 27, 2002
There's
loads to do on a summer
Sunday in Christchurch. It's as if the city had a population of a million,
rather than 300,000. (I can't get over the fact that the entire
South Island only has about a population of a million! And they're spread
about.)
First off there's the Open House scene, but since we've BTDT, we got to do something different this Sunday. There's always golf (more than 25 courses nearby), but why play on Sunday when we've got weekdays free?
This Sunday we started out walking through Hagley Park and the beautiful Botanical Gardens. This is a CHCH highlight. The variety of grand trees is incredible, the flowers are beautifully abundant, and the ponds and fountains are not to be missed.
Near the kiddie pool, we discovered an full-sized all-brass band playing for the frolicking youngsters and their ever-vigilant parents. It was a treat to hear this sort of band play music other than marches. Walking some more we encountered a second all-brass band, and then later in the day a third! It was all part of the weekly Brass on the Grass, sponsored by the CHCH City Council.
There's something special on in the park almost every Sunday: food and wine festivals, 50's revival, other musical events. This Sunday also sported the World Busker's Festival with shows by a dozen street performers in the afternoon and the Under-19 World Cricket Cup at the Park's cricket fields. For the comic-minded, there's summer theater, The Complete History of New Zealand -- Abridged. Something for everyone.
At the adjacent Art Center there's the weekly crafts fair as well as plenty of indoor art studios -- good places to wander on a rainy afternoon. Food to munch or lunch on abounds, with several cafes, local restaurants, and moveable trailers offering meals and international fast food: Turkish falafel, Greek gyros, Czech pirogies, Chinese egg rolls, German brats, and more.
In the afternoon, we headed over to the Art Museum (also in the park) for a free lecture on art glass, one of our favorite artsy topics. The speaker had been to the Pilchuck School of Glass outside Seattle and shared her pictures, slides and a video about the school and Dale Chihuly's work. He's a co-founder of the school and perhaps the most famous glass blower of all time. These two pieces above, both over 10 feet high, give you an idea of his recent work; the photos are from our visit to an outdoor exhibit in Jerusalem. Below is a small section of his beautiful ceiling made of massive glass pieces that adorns Las Vegas's magnificent Bellagio hotel.
With so many choices, nothing gets very crowded, even on a warm, sunny, summer day in January. Sundays in the city -- one reason we love Christchurch.