A wish on a prayer flag on Wellington’s waterfront

We spent a glorious sunshine Saturday on Wellington’s waterfront under the incredible ‘Fly Me up to Where You Are New Zealand‘ prayer flag installation as part of the New Zealand Festival.

The waterfront of Wellington has been abuzz with events this summer. The glorious weather has helped to make it all the more special and this installation was spectacular to lie under, stroll or dance under, and soak up the individual messages on the flags.

It was the culmination of a four-year project that began in 2012 and has gathered 15,000 flags made by children aged 8-12 at Decile 1 & 2 schools in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. Fly Me Up was facilitated by artist Tiffany Singh, who considers it a priority to provide a space for learning, sharing and connecting to the world around us. The installation design was by Meg Rollandi.

#flymeuptowhereyouare #contactfestival2015 #prayerflags #Wellington http://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2016/thecontact-festival-playground-fly-me-up-to-where-you-are-nz/wellington

A video posted by Sarah (@britmuminnz) on Mar 18, 2016 at 7:29pm PDT

My youngest daughter was mesmerised by the artwork and the sound of the flags rustling gently in the breeze.

She came up with an impromptu song, straight from the heart, which I did my best to record (at her request) – but the background sounds made it hard! She named her song ‘All The Good Times‘ and it’s on her YouTube channel.

We also enjoyed walking along the waterfront past the amazing ‘Water Whirler’ sculpture, by Len Lye. It’s mesmerising to watch and irresistible to young and old alike, especially on a hot day, as a walk under the water whirler is a guaranteed way to have a quick cool down!

Young Alice stopped to play an impromptu sound on the waterfront’s piano…

To throw a pose in front of another sculpture –

Have a play at Frank Kitts playground –

And visit Capital E, where my ten year daughter was attending a fantastic film workshop Birthday party (and my 12 year old daughter also got to participate!).

Sisters, taking a stroll on Wellington Waterfront.

Alice enjoyed playing in the free ‘playground’ area, where an Easter theme was set up. She made a few decorative paper eggs for the ‘Easter trees’, including a ‘Humpty Dumpty’ egg!

We also enjoyed a visit to the gorgeous ‘Underground Market‘ and the children were thankful to one of the outdoor stall holders for providing children’s seats with a view and free sun-screen!