Parachute Offers $1 Tickets

Sluggish early-bird ticket sales saw this weekend’s Christian festival Parachute in New Zealand offer NZ $460 (US$ 386.70) family passes for as low as $1 to struggling families.

“It’s a pay-what-you-can-afford deal,” said the festival’s founder and chief executive, Mark de Jong. “We think it’s more important to have families there than make money from their tickets.”

The event, in its 21st year, runs Jan. 27-30 at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton.

Last year’s event drew almost 24,000.

de Jong insisted this was not the end for Parachute.

“It’s a tough economy out there right now, and the Christchurch earthquakes haven’t helped,” he said.