Cityscape Christmas 2019
Bring on the party, Cityscapers! Addington Cup Week kicks off the season we love to love, and we are sooo ready. We bring you all the deets on the biggest week in Christchurch’s social calendar. Important information like what the judges are looking for in The Crossing Fashion Starts Here Best Dressed Competition and stuff about the racing as well, like pointers on how to pick a winner. And thanks to Callam Mitchell and his team at Team Event, Addington Cup Week is just the start of party season. We talk to the promoter putting the icing on Christchurch’s cake this summer. Ladi6 is just one of the fantastic artists he is bringing to town, and we check in with her as well (that’s her gorgeous self on the cover). The days are counting down to Christmas and with that comes the fun and the challenge of finding the perfect gift for all those on your ‘Nice’ list. We live to serve here at Cityscape, and so we have served up a curated Christmas gift guide brimming with ideas fresh and failsafe. Nailing that pressy list is the best reason possible for heading to the central city and exploring its retail hotspots, followed by a drink and some nibbles, of course. We shine our spotlight on what’s new in the inner city, from retail meccas to the hottest hospo hangouts. And if 2020 is looking like the year to put a ring on it, check out our feature on the amazingly creative community of jewellers we have in this city. As always, we also bring you what’s hot in cuisine, events, home and couture.
Bring on the party, Cityscapers! Addington Cup Week kicks off the season we love to love, and we are sooo ready. We bring you all the deets on the biggest week in Christchurch’s social calendar. Important information like what the judges are looking for in The Crossing Fashion Starts Here Best Dressed Competition and stuff about the racing as well, like pointers on how to pick a winner. And thanks to Callam Mitchell and his team at Team Event, Addington Cup Week is just the start of party season. We talk to the promoter putting the icing on Christchurch’s cake this summer. Ladi6 is just one of the fantastic artists he is bringing to town, and we check in with her as well (that’s her gorgeous self on the cover). The days are counting down to Christmas and with that comes the fun and the challenge of finding the perfect gift for all those on your ‘Nice’ list. We live to serve here at Cityscape, and so we have served up a curated Christmas gift guide brimming with ideas fresh and failsafe. Nailing that pressy list is the best reason possible for heading to the central city and exploring its retail hotspots, followed by a drink and some nibbles, of course. We shine our spotlight on what’s new in the inner city, from retail meccas to the hottest hospo hangouts. And if 2020 is looking like the year to put a ring on it, check out our feature on the amazingly creative community of jewellers we have in this city. As always, we also bring you what’s hot in cuisine, events, home and couture.
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THE CROWD WHISPERER
WE ALSO LIKE TO USE THE
ENVIRONMENT TO CREATE LITTLE
NOOKS AND CRANNIES ...
IT CREATES AN ENVIRONMENT
OF DISCOVERY.
Above: Great Kiwi
Beer Festival.
well as being able to visualise a site and how
the crowd will flow. We also like to use the
environment to create little nooks and
crannies – especially with Electric Avenue, as
it creates an environment of discovery. We
also measure crowd flow rates, so there’s
some mathematical calculations involved as
well. We have a skilled team who have been
involved with these festivals since very early
on who all play a part in this, and the crowd
experience is always at the forefront of our
planning. How soon do you need to start
planning for an event to be a success?
What’s the timeline? The timelines are
always different. For existing festivals, our
planning starts as soon as one finishes,
whereas for new events the planning can be
years. We have been looking at taking the
Great Kiwi Beer Festival to the North Island
for about five years but only a few months
ago settled on a city and venue, which is
Claudelands Event Centre in Hamilton. From
there we’ve allowed six months to promote
and deliver the event. With planning an
event, what keeps you awake at night?
What do you have the least control over?
Securing lineups is always a difficult exercise,
particularly for Electric Avenue. New
Zealand’s isolated location makes it
expensive to bring artists out and requires a
long lead-in time for artists as it often
requires shows throughout Australasia to
make travelling this far viable. As most of our
events are outdoors, we have the least
control over the weather, but event
management is all about risk mitigation, and
we are well insured for those worst-case
scenarios. How did you get into the
business? I dropped out of university in 1998
to open a nightclub and it sort of stemmed
from there really. We were regularly hosting
touring DJs and staging events there. From
there I promoted a multi-club inner-city
festival in Christchurch called Unity, which
ran twice yearly for a number of years. Over
this period I also owned a record store and
DJ’d for many years, playing at many festivals
and dance parties – so it made sense to keep
the promotion side of things going once I
hung up my headphones. What was your
first event? My first event was a School Cert
after-party at my parents’ house when I was
16. I played high school cricket at the time
and knew we were in for a pretty big turnout
when I heard our opposition team talking
about it that day! Needless to say it got a
little out of control. What mistake have you
learned the most from? I wouldn’t say I’ve
learned the most from any particular
47 CITYSCAPE.CO.NZ Christmas 19