The Influencers Column: Tony Mounce
The relatively flat housing market in Christchurch is fuelling interest from first home buyers keen to capitalise on the largely stagnant prices. But buying your first home is far from easy, although KiwiSaver and HomeStart grants are fantastic tools to help get onto the property ladder. A young couple recently came […]
The Influencers Column: John Bridgman
Ōtākaro recently ran a series of walking tours around the central city as part of Explore Christchurch, a campaign to encourage locals to come and see what’s going on in town. With around 300 people joining us across the eight tours, the level of interest surpassed our expectations. At first glance, […]
The Influencers Column: Ivan Iafeta
The Christchurch City Council recently announced the development of an action plan to increase the pace of regeneration in Christchurch’s city centre. The stimulus was an assessment by Regenerate Christchurch of progress in the central city and five key recommendations regarding leadership, growth, people, activation and implementation. The council’s action […]
The Influencers Column: Matt Harris
One of the repeated issues that we see in NZ business is the ongoing difficulty in attracting skilled labour. In the construction sector, an area often in the news lately, we are faced with a continual shortage of trained and experienced engineers, architects, planners etc. If left unchecked, this can impact […]
The Influencers Column: Dr Megan Woods
Following the release of the Independent Ministerial Advisor’s report in June which found that things weren’t up to scratch at the Earthquake Commission, it is great to see some positive changes being made in progressing claims and communication with claimants. Most of these changes have been really practical and directly addressed […]
Dogged Determination: Q&A with Mark Vette
Mark Vette has trained animals for film and television locations around the world, such as Narnia and Lord of the Rings. He has his own television show Pound Pups to Dog Stars, where he transforms dogs on death row into happy, healthy, well-behaved dog stars. But what’s perhaps even more […]
A lucky line-up: New Year’s Eve party in North Hagley Park
Christchurch is in for a lucky line-up this New Year’s, with the announcement that Kiwi music legend Jordan Luck and some of the country’s most talented musicians will help us farewell 2018 and welcome in 2019. The headline act at the free New Year’s Eve party in North Hagley Park on […]
Editor’s Perspective: September 27th 2018
“If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse,” Walt Disney. Just 50 years ago, it was widely believed that it was physiologically impossible for women to run a 26 mile course. Despite stewards trying to physically prevent the 20-year-old […]
Finding Spring Fare: All-new ‘market to table’ cooking demonstrations
At the beginning of this month, the Farmers Market Spring Festival launched all-new ‘market to table’ cooking demonstrations. Jax Hamilton introduced the first of these with her usual enthusiasm and flair from the kitchen verandah at Riccarton House. The demonstrations will continue from 10-10:30am every Saturday during the warmer months, […]
Marking winter’s end: Alexandra Blossom Festival
Spring has sprung, and the Southern Lakes region has awoken from its winter slumber. What better way to mark the end of our seasonal hibernation – and make the most of longer, warmer days – than by attending the Contact Alexandra Blossom Festival. First held in 1957, it’s the longest-running […]
