CHCH RECLAIM PUBLIC SPACE

On Saturday the 9th of July at 4pm people gathered at Bedford row to participate in 'the dance of dissent'. Within a short space of time music was pumping, street soccer being played, food not bombs operating, stalls and colorful props strewn about and people were dancing.
Some of the props included a tripod with a black flag attatched to it and notice boards with various anti capitalist /anti authoritarian images on them.
The sreet was blocked to traffic for up to an hour when one police vehicle containing four officers arrived having acted on a complaint. The cops walked around and were demanding that people get of the street and remove their belongings. They also threatented to burn the items if they weren't removed immediately.
The presence of the police was enough to send a few people away taking stall gear etc with them and those people decided to move the party to Latimer square (about a block away).
Before long the street was empty and most of the people went to the park to continue the music and frivolities.
A SUV(4WD) pinata was strung up and people were invited to smash a 4WD as a symbolic gesture highlighting the global effects of climate change. A good amount of satisfying bashing and the pinata finally succumbed scattering lollies and other goodies about for people to share.
Before long someone started a fire in a drum and it kept everyone warm for the rest of the night.
The number of people varied from 40 to 15 and lack of numbers was put down to having moved locations. The overall vibe of the evening was positive and much food (provided by food not bombs of course) was eaten and some entertainers juggled and played with fire during the course of the evening. It finished at about 8:30pm.