BLIA South Island Members Attended Open CHCH Organiser’s Appreciation Tea Party
The second 2022 Open Christchurch event ended successfully on 30 April and 1 May 2022. More than 40 buildings in Christchurch were opened to the public and they attracted nearly 10,000 visitors in two days. The organiser "Te Pūtahi Centre for Architecture and City Making” held a "Appreciation Tea Party" at Woods' Mill Workshop, one of the Open Buildings, on 20 May. Representatives from the participating Open Buildings and Event Sponsors were invited to the Tea Party. Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Christchurch was invited and Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island members Kok-Wei Low, Toney Su and Juin-Mei Chan, representing FGS Christchurch, attended the function.
Dr. Jessica Halliday, Director of Te Pūtahi Centre for Architecture and City Making, delivered a welcoming speech, thanking the selected buildings for cooperating with the organiser by making time and space to host the event, and thanking the sponsors for their assistance in funding the event, making it a success again. While New Zealand is still in the midst of the COVID-19 epidemic, the event had brought life to Christchurch, revitalized the city, and brought a lot of joy to people.
At the Tea Party, BLIA representatives, with the help of the 2022 BLIA New Zealand Activities Report, introduced FGS Temple Christchurch and the activities of BLIA North and South Islands to other participants, and promoted the "2022 Chocolatte Festival" which would be held on 18th June 2022 . The Party attendees were very happy to see BLIA members with yellow vests, and Rose, the representative of Christchurch Central Library (Turanga), took the initiative to say hello, expressing that she was deeply impressed by FGS South Island’s "Buddha Bathing Ceremony" and "Yao Hong-ying Embroidery Exhibition", both of which she had attended, Rose hoped to have the opportunity to participate in the Temple activities again. The people who attended the Tea Party were delighted to have come to know FGS Temple Christchurch, and promised to arrange time to come to the Temple to enjoy delicious vegetarian food and visit the art exhibition at the Art Gallery.