December /January delights (part 1)

We spend our weekend and public holidays slashing and mowing..rewarding but tiring.
Oh and I forgot to mention, we had hay cut and baled so Tom and John pitched in and helped with the carting to the sheds around town...a huge task..
Back to work and the Christmas visitors are still around town..keeping us busy.
A small group of us begin setting up Yarn bombing around town. The Folk Festival is early this year..6-8th Jan..so there is no lull in the activity in town.We really notice it because we are pretty tired..But we do love the festival and all the action and music and people..

OK...so first up the yarnbombing..
The first day,I could only help to put up some of the work as I had to get back to the shop..
I continued on my own after work and early in the morning before work..receiving lots of encouraging comments from passers by...
Bob Brown was in the shop one day and asked if that was me he'd seen up a pole one afternoon!!Loads of fun.

 My special dead cat bomb

 More early morning work..

 My surprise bomb out front of the shop..
Exciting to watch people's reactions (from inside the shop)
Much photographed..

 Tom was a great help getting Mandalas up and down each day.
We did not dare leave them up overnight..
Sadly a number of the mandalas and other works in the Park and up the street were souvenired.

 The trikes make a comeback...chained up for security this year..9although one did still go missing ..later reported in a back street driveway.

 The fishing net on the toilet block...fabulous...

 The art gallery..

 Bombing in the park..

 And I do a bomb reprise..

The festival weekend is a hot one...

John and Tom do their usual 4pm-12am shift at the Scout manned camping ground at Burton's Reserve..So once I finished work at about 5.30ish, I took them down some food.

Then had a lovely evening wandering around to different venues having a listen.. Was so tired...but couldn't go home with so much on offer. Ended up meeting up with my friend Tereza, and we went up to St Mark's Church (new venue this year) and heard some extraordinary accapella singing by Kirsty Bromley..very special.

One of my favourite things was this UNITY event that ran the whole weekend.

People were invited to weave their story choosing from 8 of the statements attached to each post

 Opening concert in the park

 Dancing in the Town Hall

 Markets

 Festival Choir practise.

 I volunteer for a bit on Sat and Sunday morning at the workshop site.

 The Pope seems to be levitating this year..

My friend Sandra made all this beautiful bunting...looked wonderful

 So hot in the afternoon..festival goers looked for a shady place to rest...plus you could hear whoever was performing in the church too!!

 The UNITY circle

 Saturday afternoon the pilgrims who have walked from Mountain River arrive

 Kavisha Mazzella leads the choir

 Fabulous busking

 Kavisha...storytelling

 Wallis Bird ..a real dynamo from Ireland

 John ,Tom and I opted for Directors pick Final concert in Carmel Hall this year.

(The volunteers concert in the Auditorium usually descends into a wild dance party...)

There was a rich selection of performers...an absolute delight. John and Tom left early and I stayed on until about 11pm,,,then had to go,,too tired!!

Another FABULOUS festival..