An annual festival held in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula to celebrate the heritage of our district.

The Christchurch Heritage Festival is an opportunity to share the stories of the past that link us to this place.

The festival sits as part of the Christchurch City Council’s Our Heritage, Our Taonga Heritage Strategy 2019-2029. He tātai muka, he tātai tangata – weave together the strands; weave together the people.

Christchurch Heritage Festival 2025

Saturday 11 to Monday 27 October (Labour Day) 2025

Festival details will be available through Whats On(external link) and a printed guide from September.

If you have any queries regarding the Heritage Festival or would like to be added to our mailing list for direct updates, please email heritage@ccc.govt.nz.

Applications for the Heritage Festival 2025 have now closed

2025 event providers can reference the Christchurch Heritage Festival 2025 application guidelines [PDF, 245 KB].

The theme for 2025 is based around anniversaries connected with the foundation of the city of Ōtautahi-Christchurch and the Waitaha-Canterbury region, the physical construction of the city and anniversaries relating to how our communities have changed and developed over time.

The place we live in continues to change, and through sharing our stories, we better understand our environment, the landscape, the people and the place.

There are local and national anniversaries occurring this year – for the purposes of developing a theme, we have worked with 25-year increments from 50 years ago: 1975, 1950, 1925, etc. Find some of the anniversaries in the Christchurch Chronology(external link)(external link) and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage(external link)(external link).

2024