Experiencing a Kiwi Kirihimete at the Queenstown Christmas Show! (part 2)

Previously on the last blog...

Singing the last line, concluding the song, everyone gives applause for their admirable talent. I do so too. It was nice for once to be part of the audience instead of being the one singing of stage.

Presumably, the host walks up to the stage, mike in hand, with a huge welcoming grin on his face. It reminds me of those TV game shows where the host walks up to the area and says all their repeated lines. But this time, instead of watching it on TV, I'm watching it in real life. And it's beginning right now.

"Welcome to the Queenstown Christmas Show 2025!!"

The crowd's deafening cheers and bellows erupt the whole room in an instant.

"I'm Eric, and I'll be your host for today's Christmas Show. But before we begin, let me run some safety protocols to keep us safe." He drones on about nearby exits, what to do when there's an earthquake, locations of toilets, etc.

After finishing with the safety procedures and warming up the audience, he puts on a smile. "With that, let the Christmas Show 2025 begin!"

Present

I could feel the anticipation of all the people sat in this room burning wildly, despite not seeing their expressions. Everyone, including me, was curious about what this show was going to bring us.

The screen displays a background of a typical cityscape you'd usually come across in Queenstown, before two young children, one male and one female, walk into the centre of the stage. The young male protagonist is nicely dressed, with a brown vest over a t-shirt, while the other young female protagonist is seen wearing a white dress. 

With a forlorn sigh, Olaf seems disheartened. "How am I supposed to see my family for Christmas? My flight to Iceland is cancelled for the holidays. There's no way I'll visit my family now." Aroha sympathetically holds Olaf's right shoulder, and flashing a smile at him, she reassures him. "Well, at least you can spend the Christmas time here in New Zealand, right? Sure, it's not snowing and the temperature drops really low in New Zealand. Instead of making snow mans and throwing snowballs at each other, we have a nice roast with family and friends, hang out outside and go to the beach, since December is in the middle of summer."

Olaf perks up. "Hang on. How am I supposed to spend Christmas without snow?? In Iceland, we have warm, hot chocolates that makes your stomachs fuzzy, go sledding, and make snow angels in the ground. But in here... it's a lot different." There's a miserable tone in his voice, and Aroha can feel it. She pauses for a second, considering the right thing to say, before responding back to Olaf.

"To make you feel the spirit of Kiwi Christmas, what about I show how we do a Kiwi Kirihimete here?" 

"I guess we could." He uncertainly comments with a shrug. Aroha grabs Olaf by the shoulder. "Well, come on with me then!!" She whisks Olaf away, which cues on to the next scene.

They enter a grand hotel lobby, with chandeliers and its lights reflecting, with large and white cream coloured staircases that practically fill the length of the lobby. Everything looks so rich and sophisticated.

"Before I show you how Christmas is done here in Queenstown, of course you need a place to stay in. Let me introduce to you the manager of this hotel, Williams." Aroha gestures to a side character, who's attire is exactly like a manager from the hotel industry, formal, neat and presentable.

"Pleasure to meet you~" Williams offers his hand out to Olaf, and is given a firm shake by Olaf. "The same for me.", kindly says Olaf.

"Sooo... I really want to show Olaf the Christmas spirit you'd normally find here in NZ, because his flight to Iceland to visit his family for Christmas was cancelled, so he has no choice to stay here." 

"Ahh... terrible news. I'm so sorry about that. Well, what we can offer you is a package of taking you to see some reindeer and with some Christmas magic, you can fly with them!" , William beams up, listing available Christmas packages, but Aroha and Olaf seem to be overwhelmed by this. "Or also you can stuff yourselves with our mouth-watering, irresistible Christmas buffet, with Christmas delights and pastries such as pavlovas, turkey and eggnog! Ooh! And what about-"

"I think we're good..." Aroha abruptly cuts him off. 

"Well, either way, you are more than welcome to be my guest, after all, you are my guests heh." 

Without even expecting the first dance scene of the night, the instrumentals of "Be My Guest" from Beauty and the Beast play from the speakers, and children dressed in waitress and waiter attires hurry over into the middle of the stage, the spotlight on them. They have a dance scene, with them emoting as if they were serving to guests, putting their hand out and marching around. The fact that they or their teachers most likely planned out this choreography is remarkable, considering that my school - if they were put in a position to arrange a choreography for a major event - would've not done a better job.

The dance choreo consisted them walking into all sorts of areas in the stage, but also somehow perfectly timed. It's jaw-dropping how they manage to do this, I could've never designed this choreography in the first place. Not just Olaf, but the whole crowd is in awe with all the dance, but also the music and atmosphere sets up a magical time.

Smoothly, they conclude the dance by exiting the stage, and back into the original situation. It's almost like the dance scene never even occured in the first place.

"Whoa... so this is how Christmas is like in New Zealand." Olaf, still starstruck, comments on a few second's term of events. "Yup! Christmas time here in Aotearoa is always magical.", agrees Aroha.

"We really hope you enjoy your stay here Olaf and Aroha! ...Now, how many nights will you stay?"

They both sort out the final details, and Olaf can't help but wonder why Aroha is going out of her way and doing all of this. It's most likely out of the goodness of her heart. Olaf is touched by this, and wishes to repay her back somehow.

"Thank you so much for everything, William. It was magical!" Aroha lights up more brighter than a Christmas tree.

"You are absolutely welcome! Bye!" William walks off, still his hospitable manners showing in his face. "That was amazing." Olaf states in wonder. Aroha faces him in agreement.. "I know right?! That was soo cool~"

To be continued... (last part coming Saturday!)