Artsfest a great weekend with community spirit shining through!!

Putaruru's weekend of Artsfest started with an explosion of talent on show with Putaruru's Got Talent. The acts ranged from vocalists, dancing, instrumentalists and cultural displays to a unicyclist. These acts showed the vast array of talent present within our community and it was great to see a big turnout of community support on the night. Judges placings were:

1st Forest View High School Polinetia Fa'atasi group, an amazing and polished group whose performance of polynesian song, dance and instruments wowed the audience.

2nd Undercover - consisting of Joshua Sager (drums), Christopher Monteith (piano), Grady and Hayden McMahon (violin), their amazing instrumental of the mission impossible theme and spy comedy made this quartet a hit with the crowd.

3rd Brianna McPherson, although Brianna is a year 10 student, her jazz perfromance of Tequila was very professional. Expect to see great things in the world of dance from this young lady.

Saturday saw the start of a stunning community mural depicting the blue springs which will be entered into the Resene mural masterpieces competition.

An exhibition of artwork from local schools was held in the plaza and these pieces showed once again the level and variety of talent within our community. Sandra Ogle kindly donated one of her amazing paintings to the high school student whose art piece impressed her most. Claire Birks of Bella creative kindly donated a portrait sitting to a student whose photography impressed her most.

An exhibition at the Putaruru Hotel on Saturday and Sunday showcased pieces by the floral art group, quliting group, Sandra Ogle, Claire Birks, Fiona Barrett and Fireworks Pottery. Card, chocolate, pottery tile and balloon animal making classes were held which was great fun.

Throughout the weekend the community jumped on board with 'Walk the Line'. This community master piece will be displayed in the Putaruru Information Centre from next week and we urge everyone to view our community creation.

Saturday night saw teams from the Rubix Cube night invade Putaruru. This was a fun night and the winners - Mother Truckers kindly donated their prize money back to Pride in Putaruru. This genorosity shows the community spirit and heart that Putaruru has which we are proud to be a part of.

We are appreciative and proud of the community support we received throughout Putaruru's Artfest weekend and thank all involved.

Putaruru's weekend of Artsfest

This weekends Artsfest kicks off with a showcase of the great talent the South Waikato has. "Putaruru's Got Talent" is on Friday night at the Plaza (not at the Arapuni Hall as previously advertised), starting at 7pm and entry is free!! Refreshments will be able for purchase during the show. The program has a wide range acts and it would be great to have a huge turnout of people to support the talent in our community.

• Check out the Schools art exhibition at the Plaza - Saturday and Sunday from 10am - 4pm. Each school will take turns providing light refreshments during the day as a fundraiser.

• If you're in town - 'Walk the line' - look out for the big canvas in town and paint on a simple line to help create an artistic masterpiece.

• Sign up to be part of the Putaruru community mural, where painters will create a scene depicting the Blue Springs. We shall then enter this mural in the Resene Community Mural Competition.

• Call into the Putaruru Hotel on either Saturday or Sunday to see displays of art work, floral displays, photography, patchwork and pottery. On Sunday learn how to shape balloons, make cards and chocolates in addition to all of the above. Charges apply to some classes and places are limited. Contact the information centre on 883 7284 for information on these.