22 Jul 2016

It's the last weekend of KidsFest and there's still more fun to be had before the school term starts again on Monday.

* Go Pokeman hunting at New Brighton. Development Christchurch Ltd and Christchurch City Council plan to bomb the New Brighton Market with lures on Saturday  between 10am and 3pm. The market will be on in the pedestrian mall and there will be fresh produce, arts, crafts, live entertainment, a bouncy castle and free face painting on offer - as well as the opportunity to catch some Pokomon. Don't miss it.

* Saturday is your last chance to take the family sky watching at the Canterbury Astronomical Society’s West Melton observatory. Part of KidsFest, the Under the Stars Astronomy sessions give kids the opportunity to become “skyentists” for the evening, exploring the wonders of the southern night sky with local amateur astronomers. There are three fixed telescopes and some portable ones at the observatory at 218 Bells Road open from 7.30pm to 9pm. Opening is dependent on weather and more information can be found at the Canterbury Astronomical Society website. 

* Another KidsFest final weekend offering is The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate! and Mean Jean the Pirate Queen at the Hagley Open Stage Theatre, 510 Hagley Avenue. There are 11am and 2pm shows this weekend. Book online at Riccarton Players

* It’s the last few weeks of the Alternative Radio: RDU98.5FM since 1976 exhibition at the Canterbury Museum. Before it closes on August 14, check out this exhibition charting 40 years of the South Island’s longest-running independent radio station and its role in the rise of New Zealand music in Christchurch. 

* Punk rock musical That Bloody Woman about suffragist and activist Kate Sheppard has just one more week at The Court Theatre before it closes on Saturday July 30. It has been described by one reviewer as “bursting with wit, verve and righteously rocking tunes”.