Bringing Warmth and Joy to Christchurch Public during the Pandemic - FGS South Island’s “2022 Chocolatte Festival”

While the world was still affected by the Omicron pandemic, in order to invigorate the hearts and minds of the Christchurch public and increase economic benefits for small and medium-sized businesses, after more than a month of planning and preparation, under the leadership of Venerable Abbess Manshin, Fo Guang Shan (FGS) South Island jointly with Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) Association South Island, successfully held the“2022 Coffee Chocolatte Festival" on 18 June 2022. Nearly 20 booth owners were invited to co-host the event, welcoming 1,600 people from Christchurch to spend a joyous time together. In Christchurch, where the geographical advantage is not obvious and the population is quite sparse, the event participated by 1,600 people could only be said to be crowded!

The public, the participating stalls, the performers and volunteers were all delighted that day. Even if the temperature was below 5 degrees Celsius, the venue was still crowded by endless stream of people early in the morning. Adults and children were spotted smiling. They thanked FGS for holding such meaningful activity in this difficult time of the pandemic, adding warmth to the cold winter and rekindling a boom in Christchurch again.

The Festival mainly focused on the local favourite coffee and chocolate. Many famous local shops, such as New Zealand's famous Aoraki coffee, Coffee Embassy, ​​SHE Chocolate, Cocoa Trader chocolate, delicious pastry cakes, Japanese sushi, and Moroccan food, all made their presence felt at the Festival. Elsewhere, FGS and BLIA South Island made connections with the people through their handmade delicious and healthy dim sum and their vegetarian food. The joyous scene was also repeated at the Water Drop Café which was packed to capacity.

Apart from food, the organisers also offered exciting performances such as orchestral performances, ethnic instrumental performances, and singing performances by Christchurch's famous choir and local artist David Arkenstone Barnett. The superb and high-level performances fascinated the audience, and many people sang and danced along. The venue was crowded with happy audience. In addition to the "Songs for Remembrance Exhibition" and the C’han Flower Art Exhibition of Abbess Manshin, the Art Gallery also hosted a live demonstration of copper wire art by amateur artist Leonore Ashby, and a live demonstration of painting creation by amateur painter Kyra Weir. The Buddha Hall had an area for copying scriptures and for offering prayers. There, the participants actively copied scriptures, offered lanterns to pray for blessings, and picked paper rolls printed with Master Hsing Yun’s “words of wisdom”. More than 1,000 copies of paper rolls were picked on the day.

Among the participants, some are regulars of Water Drop Cafe, and some got the event information from online social media. Many participants had been taking part in the event every year. When they learned about the event, they immediately asked for tickets. Through this event, many people got to know the Temple and they praised its beautiful environment. To them, every corner of the Temple was full of surprises, and they promised to bring their families and friends to visit in the future. Participating shops and performers of the event were also delighted that it had brought joy to the public.

The "Coffee Chocolatte Festival" has gained a reputation in Christchurch and has become an indispensable local cultural event. FGS South Island has been holding various activities, with culture and art as the foundation, and architecture and humanity as the main axis. These activities have fused together tradition with modernity in order to advance with the times and to integrate the Temple with the people of Christchurch, Thus, together with the people of Christchurch, FGS yearns to  create a new life of hope and joy based on Humanistic Buddhism.