Arts awards boost city
New Zealand’s top performing arts competition, an annual event worth more than $800,000 to the regional economy, has claimed Palmerston North as its permanent home.
The national young performer awards will be held in the city for the fifth time at Labour Weekend, attracting 136 soloists, 670 troupe performers and about 1400 travelling supporters.
Performing Arts Competitions Association executive officer Nikki Cunningham said the awards were for ‘‘the best of the best’’ aged 15 to 24 who had been nominated for the national competitions by one of 60 member societies.
The event had been held previously in Invercargill and Tauranga, but the decision was made this year to keep it in Palmerston North.
A Central Economic Development Agency survey after the 2017 competition showed 93 per cent of entrants and supporters came from outside Palmerston North, they stayed three or four nights, and spent a total of $684,000.
This year’s awards, featuring ballet, tap, vocal and piano, were expected to draw more families as the average age of entrants would be lower than last year.
The agency estimates were that it would bring in $838,000 this year. Cunningham said the organisers’ goal now was to secure a naming rights sponsor.
The event had relied on Creative Communities funding in the past, and Cunningham said it was difficult to develop the awards while depending from year to year on the outcomes of applications for contestable funding.
This year they would receive $12,000 in support from the Palmerston North City Council, which she described as ‘‘a very nice first step’’.