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. He tātai muka, he tātai tangata – weave together the strands; weave together the people. 

Christchurch Heritage Festival 2025

Building Place – evolving communities

Saturday 11 to Monday 27 October (Labour Day) 2025.

We welcome new and returning event providers to be part of the Christchurch Heritage Festival 2025 programme. Applications will be open here from mid-May to mid-June 2025.

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.

We look forward to working together with event providers to produce the festival this year.

Theme 2025: Building Place - evolving communities

The theme this year 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) and the Ministry of Culture and Heritage(external link).

Please note that while festival events may draw on anniversaries or the theme, this is optional.

Christchurch Heritage Festival 2024

View the Christchurch Heritage Festival 2024 event summary [PDF, 1 MB].