Wide range of 1990 projects for Canty

Press, 26 September 1989, Page 2

Wide range of 1990 projects for Canty

By

JANE DUNBAR

Festivals, exhibitions, boat races and plays are among events planned .for Canterbury’s 1990 celebrations. Applications for community grants are still arriving at the 1990 Commission office in Christchurch, and 122 projects have received funding, The Christchurch Youth Festival and the 1990 Road Show are two big events planned, but most activities, will be smaller community-based projects. Applications for funding are open to anyone with a project reflecting an aspect of New Zealand life. A project adviser, Ms Sharon Hunter, said most community committees had chosen to focus on the strengths of their area. . In Fairlie, for example, a country festival, centring on beef, wool and deer, is the local commit-

tee’s 1990 project. In Kaikoura, a marine week-end is planned. In Akaroa, celebrations will centre on French settlement of the area 150 years ago. In Christchurch, the Canterbury Museum will mount a large exhibition which will take the visitor on a walk through 1000 years of settlement in New Zealand. A $48,000 grant was made for the exhibition. Throughout the rest of the city, murals will be painted, wall-hangings woven;' trees planted, local histories written, and ethnic festivals held. A large papier-mache whale will be built and taken by sea from Wainui to Akaroa, a Margaret Mahy children’s play will be performed at the Court Theatre, and the arrival of the first four ships will be re-enacted at Lyttelton. Waitangi Day com-

memorations will be held at Okains Bay, an open day will be held at Kaiapohia Pa in December, and an international rockcarving symposium will be held at Oamaru. Nationally, 3000 events have been registered with the Commission, and 4500 are expected by the end of the year. “This is way beyond expectation,” said Ms Hunter. She said it would rJ be naive not to expect some protest during the year, but it would come from “a very small minority.” Funding had been’iallocated for a number of seminars on Treaty of Waitangi issues, and one group had received a small grant to help organise a marae visit. “There’s a real change out there. People are asking for information on Treaty issues now, which shows they genuinely want to know,” said Ms Hunter.