Nelson Arts Festival: 12 - 28 October 2012

Nelson Arts Festival

Friday 12 October to Sunday 28 October 2012

Tickle your taste buds and curl your nose hairs with some of the best national and international theatre, dance, cabaret, music and talks, readers, writers and community events at this year’s Nelson Arts Festival.

Labour weekend falls smack bang in the middle of the two-week festivities this year, making it a great time for out-of-towners to visit Nelson in Spring time and experience the festival in full throttle. That includes soaking up the jaw dropping creativity of Nelson’s famous Masked Parade on Friday 19 October - one of the largest walking parades in the southern hemisphere, followed by the colourful More FM Carnivale celebrations on Trafalgar Street that same night. Themed around ‘Myths and Legends’, at this year’s parade you can expect to see the stories of old brought to life with music, movement, mask and costume as over 4000 participants make their way through the streets of downtown Nelson.

The festival programme is packed with music, dance and theatre including the return of Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen in a deliciously macabre Kabaret Noir of darkly humorous and highly emotive songs.

A highlight will be acclaimed actor Michael Hurst in Frequently Asked Questions - some serious (but hilarious) late-night soul-searching in a solo show where he captures all four of Shakespeare’s great tragic heroes.

The line-up for Page and Blackmore Readers and Writers features an environmental theme for this year’s Thinking Brunch at the Granary Festival Café. This is just a taster of what’s to come. The full programme will be available from 4 August. Please let us know if you wish to join us for the programme launch on 3 August at The Refinery gallery, Nelson.

The Nelson Arts Festival is produced by the Nelson City Council as a celebration for locals and an attraction for visitors.

Nelson Arts Festival launches 17 days of music, theatre, dance, comedy, readers, writers and community events in New Zealand’s sunshine capital. This year the famous Masked Parade is timed at the start of Labour Weekend to suit locals and visitors alike. Nelson Arts Festival, October 12-28 2012. Programme launch early August, email festival2@ncc.govt.nz to join our mailing list.

ENDS

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