A top-flight Christchurch festival signals the start of the Antarctic’s summer season, underlining the city’s connection to the ice.
From the arrival of the USAF Globemaster C-17 to Antarctic Air Day, the Season Opening events highlight the city’s gateway status ahead of the five-month Austral season.
The Globemaster will touch down on Thursday, 27 September, ready for the annual airlift of people and cargo from Christchurch to McMurdo Station.
It will take centre stage at Antarctic Air Day near the International Antarctic Centre on Saturday, 29 September.
Air Day visitors can also check out a Panther Crash Fire Truck, Hägglunds and a Massey Ferguson on the airport tarmac. From ice sculptors to huskies to live music and food trucks, there will be plenty to keep the whole family entertained.
The main four-day festival will get under way on Thursday, 27 September with the Christchurch Antarctic Ignite Talks by “Changemakers”, featuring 10 speakers.
A South to Antarctica church service will be held at the Transitional Cathedral on Sunday, 30 September, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the statue of Robert Falcon Scott.
Later that day, people can gather outside Canterbury Museum for the Christchurch City Antarctic Heritage Walk.
The 3.6-kilometre walk starts with a museum visit before moving into the Botanic Gardens and on to central city streets featuring Antarctic-related landmarks.
Weather permitting, the first C-17 flight will take off from Christchurch on Monday, 1 October, officially heralding the start of the 2018 season.
The ice focus will continue in the city with several exhibitions, talks and workshops covering a range of Antarctic-related topics until mid-October.