Garden-art combo proves a success

The Taranaki Garden Festival and Taranaki Arts Trail will combine again next year, after this year’s joint events proved to be a roaring success.

Normally the arts trail is held in June but due to Covid-19 it had to be postponed, which led to the collaboration with the garden festival.

Taranaki Arts Trail chairwoman Heidi Griffin said the whole team behind the event were pleased with the joint festivals and next year’s would take place from October 29 to November 7.

‘‘The mutually beneficial partnership is the natural marriage between art and gardens within Taranaki, and our artists are behind this decision after a successful collaboration in 2020,’’ she said. ‘‘Shared dates can only make both events stronger. We are looking forward to the impact these joint events have on the region in the future.’’

While final numbers are being confirmed, it is looking like this year’s joint event attracted close to 80,000 garden visits, with 75 per cent of visitors coming from outside the region. This is up 30,000 from 2019.

Taranaki Garden Festival Manager Tetsu Garnett believed the alliance would play a significant role in economically benefiting the region by drawing more people to Taranaki.

Planning is already under way for 2021, Garnett said. Registrations and assessments for gardens are generally closed towards the end of March, and those interested are encouraged to get in touch with the festival organisers, she said.

‘‘We look for members of the community with a passion for gardening, happy to open up their gardens to the community and visitors to the region,’’ Garnett said.