George St blossoms at arts festival
"It was humming." Community Arts chairman and festival organiser Shaun Kay
Palmerston North’s George St was lit up with a rainbow of colours during the first Colours of Spring Blossom Festival.
Street performers put on a show and artists decorated Coleman Mall’s bollards with colourful images of native birds and greenery. The event, on Saturday, continued on into the night with food trucks joining the party as people celebrated the start of spring.
Community Arts chairman and festival organiser Shaun Kay said businesss on George St wanted to celebrate the cherry blossoms that coloured the footpaths pink.
The festival was held a week before Palmerston North’s annual International Spring Festival, but Kay said he wasn’t taking away from that festival, rather celebrating the city’s beautiful landscape even more.
Kay said about 5800 people visited the festival, which was a collaboration with the council and other sponsors.
Spectra Hair funded a mini-bus service that took people on a tour of the blossoms at the Esplanade and at the Institute of the Pacific United campus, where the spring festival will be held on Saturday.
The free bus trips were packed with people and the festival was humming. It was definitely the start of an ongoing event, Kay said.