For those of you in cultural withdrawal, the Hawke's Bay Arts Festival is set to return bigger and better this year after a stellar debut in 2015.
While the opera house remains closed, the festival fills a major cultural void in the Bay.
Last year's festival ran over 13 days and included 30 sold-out nights out of the 49 performances — 16 of which prompted standing ovations from the audience.
There was almost $250,000 generated from ticket sales and a further $25,000 in accommodation.
Festival director Pitsch Leiser said he hoped to build on the success of the inaugural festival.