Arts Festival ready to rock ‘n’roll
Nelson’s streets, theatres and parks will be filled with art and entertainment during upcoming Nelson Arts Festival.
The 17-day-long festival starts today, and is jam-packed with 120 shows.
Community services committee chair Cr Gaile Noonan said she loved that there was an eclectic mix of local, national and international acts at this year’s 23rd edition of the festival.
‘‘The Arts Festival is always a watershed for me.
‘‘It marks springtime in an unforgettable way, and from there on it’s not long till our glorious summer.’’
She said the council expected about 50,000 people to attend the shows, which included ticketed shows as well as free ones. This was a similar number compared to the past few years.
Eight shows had already sold out and five others were going the same way.
Kicking off the festival is the family friendly show Sunny Ray and the Magnificent Moon, which is on at the Suter Theatre at 1pm. It is followed by The Orchid and the Crow at the same venue at 7pm and Kate Sheppard is ‘‘raising hell’’ in her punk-rock opera, which is on at the Theatre Royal at 7:30pm.
Other highlights include comedy show Hudson & Hall Live! and Nelson’s true tale of murder, Maungatapu.
The Page & Blackmore Readers and Writers programme will feature writers from around the country in 16 events over two weekends, as well as two Thinking Brunches.
Visual arts feature with a photographic exhibition in Bank Lane, plus the opportunity to watch art being made in Founders Heritage Park with ‘‘Art in the Park’’ where five artists work on big canvasses through out the festival and ‘‘You do the Maths’’ where artist Maggy Johnston will make artwork out of rubbish.
The festival runs across Labour Weekend, and winds up with the Masked Parade and Carnivale on Friday, October 27.
For more information and to book tickets visit nelsonartsfestival.co.nz.