We are happy to announce the winner of the family pass to the Royal New Zealand Ballet production of the Nutcracker at the Isaac Theatre Royal! A huge congratulations to Alexander and Greta. The details on your entry were so well thought out and precisely executed. The moveable curtains on a mini-track and the LED lights along the stage line were an added extra. The detailed illustration on the paintings on the wall, the fireplace, the cut-out windows, tree etc are gorgeous. Thank you again – Enjoy the ballet!
Alexander and Greta’s winning entry (8 and 5 years old)
This was an extraordinarily difficult task to judge! All entries were outstanding, and we thank you all for sending through such special creations.
Highly Commended Entries
One prize was simply not enough, so we have rummaged around to find some extra prizes to gift a few of our Highly Commended entries. Each of these entries will receive a goodie bag.
Another piece of exciting news! See an exhibition of Nutcracker Dioramas
We are excited to be able to display the entries from our Nutcracker Diorama competition at Te Hāpua: Halswell Library from Friday 9 November to Tuesday 27 November. Come along and see these amazing creations including the winner and highly commended entries.
If you entered the competition and would like your artwork back immediately, and would prefer it not be in this exhibition, please contact Clare at LibraryEvents@ccc.govt.nz to organise pick up. We know how much wonderful work and effort went into making your creations – and we want to make sure they are kept safe.
Winter Read Challenge is ON! Here are some hot reading ideas from teens who have already got their entries in – thanks to you all for your v. cool suggestions.
I love Harry Potter and Divergent! I also loved Shiver because I like the supernatural. Best series ever! Zoe, 13
My favourite read was the Maze Runner trilogy. It was my favourite because I find dystopian novels very interesting. I love seeing how a world impacted by a catastrophic event can affect people in the future. Another read I loved was Warriors. I loved the idea of animals having personalities and reasons to show virtues. Many characters in this series had very strong arcs that I loved to learn about. Treasa, 15
My favourite read was Flawed by Cecelia Ahern which is a dystopian novel. I really enjoyed reading this because of the really creative storyline and all the unexpected plot twists. It is probably my all time favourite book. Another book that I really enjoying reading was actually a graphic novel called Smile by Raina Telgemeier. I normally don’t read many graphic novels but this reading challenging inspired me to give it a go. I really enjoyed Smile – I found it quite funny and the illustrations were superb! Phoebe, 13
My favourite reads were Me Before You and Still Alice because they both confronted the lives of someone with an illness or a disability. They challenged stereotypes and commonly-held perceptions in witty ways that made me laugh, cry and feel so emotionally connected to the characters. Amazing novels! Ewen, 15
I love to read fantasy books I also love to read romance stories. My favourite author would have to be Marissa Meyer because of the books she has written. Talei, 15
Email newsletters Sign up for our Teen Scene newsletter, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Popular Culture, or whatever topic you’re into. We also have an email newsletter for Young Adult new titles.
Our blog: Teens News and reviews of young adult literature from library staff.
Teen booklists We’ve compiled lists of great books and resources on a bunch of different themes and topics including some aimed at NCEA reading.
Staff Pickles See what our young adult literature experts are recommending or get one of them to make a suggestion for you based on what you’ve enjoyed before.
Kids can win awesome prizes by filling out this special online survey. All you have to do is help name Tūranga’s intergalactic heroes, the Bookbots.
During the month of July, local primary and intermediate students can vote on their favourite names for the digital characters and go in the draw to win prizes, including a real-life interactive robot for their school, with training provided by PBTech, and a class workshop with Imagination Station. Bluetooth speakers from Spark and giant Bookbot wall decals are also up for grabs.
Voting is open to local primary and intermediate students until 31 July 2018 (limited to one entry per student).
We are running an exciting competition during June and July this year. Express your creativity and be in to win a family pass to The Cat in the Hat at the beautiful Isaac Theatre Royal on Tuesday 9 October!
Dr Seuss Creation – A Family Challenge
Gather the grandkids, ask an aunty, or convince your cousins to create your own version of one of Dr Seuss’s many magical characters!
Upcycle old sheets, clothes, socks… whatever you’ve got lying around … and let your imagination go wild. No material at home? Come to a free Craft a Creature workshop, where we’ll have loads of material available for use (the workshops are on from 10 July to 19 July).
Competition is open to all ages.
Pick up your entry form at any Christchurch city library, or download the PDF. Attach the completed entry form to your creation and drop off at any one of our Christchurch City Libraries.
Conditions of entry
Competition is open from Monday 18 June to 5pm Sunday 29 July 2018.
Entries must be returned to any one of the Christchurch City Libraries by 5pm on Sunday 29 July 2018.
All winners will be announced on the Christchurch City Libraries Facebook page, and website.
Prize allocation is at the discretion of the Christchurch City Council. All decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Entries must have all correct contact details completed on the entry form.
Entries will become property of the Christchurch City Libraries. Alternatively, if you would like your entry returned, please note this on your entry form, or email us at libraryevents@ccc.govt.nz and we will sort out pick up details following the close of the competition.
The author Dav Pilkey is passionate about promoting reading and writing and we have a Captain Underpants prize pack to give away to a lucky library member, including:
2 movie passes to see ‘Captain Underpants: the First Epic Movie’ at any Christchurch Hoyts cinema, and a Captain Underpants activity book pack. Thanks to Hoyts Northlands for supplying the movie passes!
All you need to is make up your own creative title for a pretend Captain Underpants book and complete the entry form.
Competition is open until 5pm Monday 18 September 2017.
All winners will be announced on the Christchurch City Libraries Facebook page, and website.
Entries must have all correct contact details completed on the entry form.
Maximum one entry per child.
We will notify winners by telephone and/or email. Please ensure membership contact details are up-to-date.
Employees of Christchurch City Council are not eligible to enter the prize draw. Their immediate families are allowed to enter.
If you are a winner, you consent to your name, photograph, entry and/or interview being used for reasonable publicity purposes by Christchurch City Libraries.
The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Congratulations to our talented finalists! We have certificates for our finalists; they are ready for you to pick up at Papanui Library after 9am on Saturday 22 July – please contact us at LibraryEvents@ccc.govt.nz to organise delivery if you are unable to pick-up.
Winner – North, Evers, and RoxanaWinner – Imogen, Joseph, Lily-Mae, and NicolaWinner – Adrian, Helena, Kees, Imri and EvelynWinner – JaydeWinner – The Manson Family
FINALISTS
Finalist – Te Puna Oraka ELC FamilyFinalists – Charlotte and LizFinalists – Hannah and Mum
Congratulations to our talented finalists! We have certificates for all our finalists; they are ready for you to pick up at Papanui Library after 9am on Monday 17 July – please contact us at LibraryEvents@ccc.govt.nz to organise pickup or delivery.
These entries are on display at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre during the July school holidays as part of KidsFest.
Curled up in a big cosy armchair? On the bus while you head off across town? Where’s your all-time fave spot to read? Let us know, and you are in to win three awesome books kindly supplied by HarperCollins New Zealand:
Here are fifteen invaluable suggestions – compelling, direct, wryly funny, and perceptive – for how to empower a daughter to become a strong, independent woman.
The story of New Zealand’s response to our second most powerful earthquake on record. Described by Geonet as one of the most complex earthquakes ever observed, Radio New Zealand’s Vicky McKay was first to report on its violence, broadcasting live in the Wellington studio when 7.8 arrived by stealth at 12.02am.
A tale of espionage, love and passionate heroism. Inspired by true events, this is the story of how society’s ‘lovely ladies’ won a war.
To enter the competition, email your contact details and a description of your favourite place to read to competition@ccc.govt.nz with the subject line “Favourite place to read competition” by 5pm on Friday 19 May. (Sorry, staff of Christchurch City Libraries and Christchurch City Council are not eligible to enter). Good luck!
Many dread winter — the cold, the wet, the short days. Me, I love it! To bandy around the latest fashionable word, winter brings us the opportunity for hygge writ large: cosying up indoors enjoying the simple pleasures of a hot drink and a good book or film.
And this year there is an additional reason to welcome June because, together with the icy tendrils of winter, it brings us the warmth and conviviality of the second edition of the Cinema Italiano Festival NZ.
The brainchild of Kiwi-Italian actor, director and playwright Paolo Rotondo, the Festival redoubles the successes of its inaugural year with a fantastic selection of 20 features, ranging from traditional to comtemporary masterpieces.
So much so that, when I started selecting my top 3 picks, they somehow multiplied on me. I present you then (in random order because ranking them further is just too hard!) my top 9 suggestions.
Roman Holiday
The Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain! Breathtaking, stunning Rome is as much a star of this classic 1953 romantic comedy as Audrey Hepburn and the iconic Vespa scooter. Not coincidentally, Roman Holiday has been selected as the Opening Night film for the Festival.
Rocco e i Suoi Fratelli
Rocco e i Suoi Fratelli / Rocco and His Brothers
The epic tale of five brothers who migrate from the poverty of post-war Southern Italy to the wealthier industrial North, this is the other classic masterpiece of the Festival. Directed by Luchino Visconti and featuring Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, Rocco and His Brothers promises to be a glorious experience in the new digital restoration by Martin Scorsese.
Non Essere Cattivo / Don’t Be Bad
Italy’s entry in the Foreign Language Oscars for 2015 is the perfect flip-side to Roman Holiday: an R-18 drama featuring two twenty-something “losers” living on the outskirts of Rome in the late 1980s. As the Festival booklet describes it, Don’t Be Bad is a “gritty, visceral, rollercoaster ride, but at its core […] a clever and deep exploration of friendship, hope and life”.
Quo Vado?
Quo Vado? / Where Am I Going? Quo Vado? delivers 90 minutes of laughs while skewering the Italian obsession of pursuing a cushy public service job-for-life. As the highest-grossing film in Italian cinema history, it’s a cultural phenomenon not to be missed.
Perfetti Sconosciuti / Perfect Strangers
Another huge hit in Italy. A group of friends get together one evening and agree for fun to let the others read and hear all the messages and phone calls they receive on their smartphones. What could possibly go wrong?
Belli di Papà
Belli di Papà / Daddy’s Girl
As an Italian, I have to admit that there is some truth to the stereotype that many Italians are rather spoiled by their parents, at least by NZ standards. In fact I have known a fair few molly-coddled Italian men (I may even have one or two in my extended family, who I trust won’t be reading this…). So how could I resist watching “three ‘bamboccioni’ (big babies) […having…] to experience something they have never done before, work”?
Veloce come il Vento / Italian Race
This comedy drama won a swag of David di Donatello, the Italian Oscars. It tells the story of 17-year-old Giulia, who is trying to win the GT Championship, while dealing with the death of her father and the reappearance in her life of her drug addict brother Loris.
La Stoffa dei Sogni
La Stoffa dei Sogni / The Stuff of Dreams
A tale loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest which sees Camorra criminals and a theatrical company end up shipwrecked on a Mediterranean prison island. I was sold as soon as I spotted the setting: Asinara, an island off the north-western tip of Sardinia, which is now a nature reserve and home to albino donkeys.
Fuocoammare / Fire at Sea
The setting is another starkly beautiful Mediterranean island, but the tale this time is true and much grimmer. Fire at Sea documents the tragedies which take place day in and day out in Lampedusa, the southermost Italian island and the first port of arrival for thousands of refugees escaping conflict in North Africa and the Middle East. If that is not enough to convince you that you should watch Fire at Sea, it won Best Film at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival and Best Documentary at the 2017 Academy Awards.
The Christchurch leg of the Festival runs from 14 to 25 June at the Academy Gold Cinema at The Colombo. We are very lucky to have a double pass to the opening night of the Festival to give away to our readers. This not only includes the screening of Roman Holiday but also a complimentary aperitif and appetizers.
To enter the competition email your contact details to competition@ccc.govt.nz with the subject line “Cinema Italiano Festival competition” by 5pm on Monday 5 June. (Sorry, staff of Christchurch City Libraries and Christchurch City Council are not eligible to enter). Good luck!
The iconic and legendary Pixies are well and truly back and we are giving away tickets for their Christchurch show on 9 March.
In 2014 they returned from a 23 year hiatus amid much anticipation with their comeback album Indie Cindy, which was met with thunderous applause & critical acclaim (…from myself, at least!) and if they’d stopped there I would’ve felt completely satisfied as a lifelong fan. Having waited since 1991 for an album of new material (Trompe le Monde), it’s clear that they’ve picked up right where they left off – melodic, lyrical, grunty, and with bucket loads of their signature explosiveness.
Pixies 2017 lineup. Image supplied.
It’s now the early stages of 2017, they’ve got a new bass player (Paz Lenchantin), and I’m stoked to be readying myself to see them live right here in Christchurch, on Thursday, 9 March at Horncastle Arena, as they tour their latest album Head Carrier.
Released late last year, Head Carrier is yet another example of their signature sound and songwriting styles, and if you’ve never heard them before then this album is well worth a listen if you like bands such as The Stone Roses, Smashing Pumpkins, or even The Jesus & Mary Chain – another 1990s indie band due to make a comeback this year.
If you’re keen to win a double pass to the Christchurch Pixies show just answer the simple question on our competitions page.
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