Arts festival acclaimed best yet

Hundreds poured into Wairarapa for the biennial Greytown Arts Festival over the weekend, with some calling it the most successful yet.

Organiser Steffen Kreft said the festival had been "pretty amazing" with many events sold out and feedback from festival goers and local businesses was that it had been the best yet.

"A lot of businesses have come to me and said, 'Labour Weekend is always really busy, but we have made so much money this weekend'."

Despite an uncertain forecast, all events went ahead as planned.

Mr Kreft said it was hard to say how many people came through Greytown over the weekend, but it looked like three times the amount that would be there for a usual weekend.

"There were no hiccups, everything went so smoothly and people really helped."

He said it could not have happened without the help of volunteers who got on board in the last two weeks.

A Greytown Visitor Centre volunteer said they had had plenty of people through the doors, and watched hundreds pour into Greytown Town Centre for The Last Piece exhibition.

Tape artists Erica Duthie and Struan Ashby said it was one of the most successful community murals they had ever done in New Zealand, describing the crowds as "very embracing".

"There were more superlatives, there were more in-depth questions, they were interested and wanted to get to know what you're doing."

The pair said that many came back a number of times over the weekend, with several being incorporated into the mural and returning yesterday to help rip the artwork down.