Join Sunday's street party in Cathedral Square

Christchurch families are being encouraged to kick off the school holidays by exploring their own city centre and joining the Streets for People festivities in Cathedral Square on Sunday 1 October.

Streets for People has been organised by Christchurch City Council to give people an added reason to come and explore the new look city centre.

Streets for People will have lots of fun, free activities for the kids.

“The city centre is changing almost daily and with the recent opening of  new businesses it is really starting to get back its buzz. Streets for People is about celebrating the progress that has been made and about encouraging families back into the area,’’ said Christchurch City Council’s Urban Regeneration Team Leader Carolyn Bonis.

“It is the first weekend of the school holidays so hopefully lots of families will come along, join in the festivities and take the chance to have a wander around the city centre and see how the area is regenerating.’’

Streets for People starts in Cathedral Square at 10am on Sunday and runs through until 5pm. The streets around Cathedral Square will be closed to traffic and there will be food trucks, market stalls, dance performances and live music throughout the day.

Heaps of free activities will be on offer for children including bouncy castles, mini-golf, water walkers (think zorb balls in paddling pools) and bumper boats.

The heritage trams will also be offering free rides into Cathedral Square for those heading into the Streets for People event.

“It’s a long time since we’ve had a street party in the city centre and we’re really excited about seeing Cathedral Square filled with people again. We hope this event will inspire communities to have their own Streets for People parties to enliven their neighbourhoods over the summer.

"It should be a great day so make sure you come along,’’ Ms Bonis said.