Ukuleles and underpants add to festival's colour

Luggate inundated with ukuleles, opera-singer Helen Medlyn is posing as a man, Joe Bennett is showing off his underpants - what is the country coming to?It is coming to Wanaka, for the third Southern Lakes Festival of Colour in April.

The Festival of Colour trust last night launched the 2009 programme, which has been produced on a budget of about $800,000.

The arts festival will provide 58 performances over six days from April 28 to May 3.

It will also incorporate the Wild South International Film Festival.

Most events will be held in Wanaka venues but several will also tour to Luggate, Hawea Flat, Tarras, Bannockburn, Clyde, Arrowtown and Glenorchy.

When asked to single out his festival pick, festival director Philip Tremewan was unable to turn to just one page in the programme.

Central Otago artist Grahame Sydney will launch both the Festival of Colour and the Wild South International Film Festival on April 28, with a premiere of his documentary Dreaming of El Dorado.

Opera singer Helen Medlyn, of Wellington, who does a nice sideline in musical theatre and cabaret, starts the music programme later that night, with her show Hell, Man.

Later in the week, the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra will rock the community halls with their sing-along favourites, including songs by David Bowie, and amazing audiences with their dress sense.

Christchurch writer Joe Bennett will talk about Where Underpants Come From as part of the Aspiring Conversations programme that also includes US journalist Bill McKibben, Waipara Valley writer Gareth Renowden, Otaki poet Glenn Colquhoun and British war correspondent Christina Lamb.

Also on the programme are works written or performed by playwright Dave Armstrong, musicians Mike Nock, Michael Houstoun, and Dierdre Irons, choreographer Raewyn Hill, songwriter-singer Don McGlashan and writer-actor Ian Hughes.

Several works have been commissioned by the festival and will be performed for the first time, including Armstrong's play Le Sud and Hill's dance work Finders Keepers.

Local artists include the Central Otago Regional Choir (Faure's Requiem) and Flat Out Productions of Hawea Flat (Witches Over Wanaka).

There is also an arts trail, garden trail, activities for children and a free street theatre day.

Full programmes are on websites www.festivalofcolour.

co.nz and www.paradiso.net.

nz.

Tickets, priced from $5 to $32, will be released to the public on February 23.