Nelson Arts Festival Closes With Pet Art Wear & Art Auction

Nelson Arts Festival Closes With Pet Art Wear And Art Auction

The last weekend of the Nelson Arts Festival packed in a range of events including the sold-out Thinking Brunch, Irish folk singer Pauline Scanlon, poet Vincent O’Sullivan at Woollaston Estates, the Oi You! art auction and the annual Pet Art Wear competition.

The top award in this went to the Crompton family whose Hairy Macleary contingent of kids and their dog won a trip to Wellington on the Bluebridge ferry and a voucher from Halifax Veterinary Centre. The Bluebridge Family Finale attracted three thousand people to Founders Park yesterday (Monday).

Nelson City Council Festival Director Sophie Kelly says the longer than usual festival (October 7-24) was a big success, with at least one sell-out show every night there were events programmed.

“Having the festival spread out more with shows clustered towards the end of the week worked really well, with people commenting they like having a couple of quiet nights to rest up,” she said.

A major highlight of the festival was the Piki Mai sound and light installation on the Church Steps and Cathedral tower, that was drawing several hundred people every night as word spread about it.

The Oi You! Urban Art Exhibition closed with an auction on Monday night. All of the 34 works by the finalists of the art competition sold, reaching prices of up to $600. Organiser George Shaw says as well as bidders at the Energy Centre there were phone bids from visitors who had seen the show over the last month.

George and his wife Shannon have just four days now to pack their Banksy collection for an urban art festival at Sydney’s Cockatoo Island.

The Nelson City Council presents the Nelson Arts Festival annually as a celebration of the arts for locals and an addedattraction for visitors.

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