World-first Parr-formance over ... and no sign it even happened NOTHING TO SEE HERE

IT ended with a whimper and the street will be back to normal for peak hour this morning.

Australian performance artist Mike Parr was released from his underground tomb beneath Macquarie St in Hobart’s central business district just after 9.30 last night.

The 73-year-old was dug up after three days sealed inside a steel container with workers lifting the lid about 9.35pm. Parr climbed out shortly after.

Hundreds gathered lasty Thursday night to watch Parr buried as part of Tasmania’s annual Dark Mofo festival.

Many braved the weather last night to see him return to the surface. But, while some cheered, other spectators were left wanting as Parr failed to acknowledge the crowd and shook the hands of just two onlookers before retreating to the Macquarie St arts hub.

IT wouldn’t be Dark Mofo without a bit of wild weather — and yesterday’s downpour couldn’t stop thousands of people from rugging up and hitting the Hobart waterfront again last night.

After thousands crammed into the MAC2 shed on Saturday night for the Red Bull Music presents Jagwar Ma show, many were straight back into the Dark Mofo action again yesterday, making the most of the opportunities despite the cold and rain.

At the third night of the everpopular Winter Feast, some of the fire pits that usually heat up the Salamanca Lawns were not ignited in order to stop patrons further damaging the sodden lawn below.

“Some of the external stalls may choose not to trade because of the bad weather,” Winter Feast project manager Joe Pickett said yesterday afternoon.

“And we aren’t going to light as many fires as we usually do on the Salamanca Lawns, just because it’ll be too boggy under foot and we don’t want to damage the lawns.

“It’s still pretty warm inside — once we get thousands of people through the door, it’s a good place to be.”

Organisers are hailing Dark Mofo’s opening weekend as a huge success — and there’s still plenty more to come over the next six days.

The big-ticket attractions Winter Feast and Dark Park may not be open again until Thursday but there’s no shortage of events and activities to keep the masses occupied in the meantime, including sold-out performances tonight and tomorrow by acclaimed musical comedian Tim Minchin at the Odeon Theatre.

There’s also about a dozen Dark Mofo exhibitions open across the city today, including

The Return at the old Hobart

Convict Penitentiary. Artists Lucy Bleach, Daniel Crooks, Brad Darkson, Jon Smeathers, Byron Perry, Aron Hemingway and Yandell Walton have created a series of video, sound, sculpture and installation works based on the idea that time travel isn’t just possible, it’s an everyday occurrence.

The Return is open at the old Hobart Convict Penitentiary (corner of Brisbane andd Campbell streets) from 5pm-10pmm daily until Saturday. Entry is free,