The Ōtautahi outlook is a mini-series catching the thoughts of Christchurch's leaders on the postitive things happening in Christchurch.

What’s good in Christchurch this year? We’re really excited about the borders opening up. Open the border and the people will come! We have seen people coming from different parts of New Zealand who haven’t been for a while and they say it really feels like an amazing new city. I think the ski season is going to bring a lot of people to the South Island, you just get the feeling it’s going to be a good season. And of course, Te Pae is now open

What are you most excited about? In the coming months there’s Tīrama Mai. Every time I walk down the street I see the posters encouraging people to come into town. It’s going to start on the first Matariki public holiday. Of course, the other thing that happens during that period, because it’s the school holidays, are the fireworks that used to be in November. The whole idea of shifting the fireworks to June is the sky gets dark at a time when families can enjoy the spectacle.

What’s the last thing you bought, and where? I always buy New Zealand-made clothes. I bought an amazing jumper from Plume. We have a lot of New Zealand-made designer stores in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Who’s your favourite Christchurchian right now? Marlon Williams. He doesn’t live here right now. Actually, I was standing in the reception area of the floor I’m on and a council staff walked by and he said “Have you heard the latest from your favourite?” I said “What?” and he said “Marlon has put out a new record.”

*The Mayor finds the new Marlon Williams song on her phone and starts playing it to Cityscape*

It’s called ‘My Boy’. You’re listening to me hearing it for the first time and it’s lovely. There’s something about that guy. He was the first concert I went to after the Town Hall opened. I remember with his final encore, the whole audience stood to their feet, and I had a moment where I thought “How amazing.” A local guy playing on the Town Hall stage and getting a standing ovation like that. So yeah, I’m a fangirl.

Your top Christchurch secret? The things I like to do aren’t secrets, but sometimes they aren’t sufficiently well known, like Lumière which is my local cinema. It’s within walking distance of home. It’s such a welcoming place. You can go on your own, you can go with friends. They’ve got lovely people who work there and they show great movies. It shouldn’t have been a secret, but they showed the 50th anniversary of Harold and Maude. It’s one of the classic movies, with dark humour. The cinema wasn’t crowded, but it should have been. They show classic movies all the time.

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