The 2009 Dunedin Heritage Festival dusted off two years of accumulated cobwebs and strode out into the Octagon yesterday.
Bagpipers serenaded the Robbie Burns statue in the morning as official Invercargill Town Crier Gretchen Mark-Dear launched the cultural festival.
Dunedin does not have an official town crier and Gore's town crier, who usually officiates at Dunedin events, was otherwise engaged.
The second of the two-yearly Dunedin City Council-funded festivals is celebrating Dunedin art and literature.
More than 400 Dunedin school pupils joined the Kaikorai Brass Band on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral to sing the national anthem at lunchtime.
"It's been a great start to the festival. The weather's played the game and the sun is shining," festival director Sue Clarke said yesterday.
"Hopefully, it carries on through the weekend, because there are some wonderful events on."
However, it had been a more difficult task celebrating arts and literature than the inaugural festival in 2007, which celebrated Dunedin music and "almost wrote itself", Ms Clarke said.
"It is probably more difficult to make art and literature come alive. Trying to get it to jump off the page probably has been a wee bit harder," she said.
"It was important to us to attract a broad community, not just those who are passionate about arts and literature. We wanted to avoid being too high-brow. We're absolutely delighted with the programme. There are lots of great family events over the weekend and most of it's free."
After just two years, the heritage festival had become a colourful event on the Dunedin calendar, Ms Clarke said.
"The heritage festival fits really well here. Dunedin was basically New Zealand's first city and has always had a wonderful history in arts and literature," she said.
"We've also got a strong university and the first art school in New Zealand, which both keep bringing out new writers and artists every year. We have such a strong cultural heritage here, but we don't shout from the rooftops about it."
Events over the weekend will stretch around Otago Harbour, from Caselberg House in Broad Bay to floating poets in Careys Bay.
A large crowd filled Marama Hall last night for "An Evening with Charles Brasch", which featured friends of Brasch, including O. E. Middleton, Margaret Scott and Alan Roddick, reminiscing about the poet and philanthropist.
The festival continues today with the Bell Hill fete from 9.30am till 1pm, the Careys Bay shellfish festival from midday till 2pm and "Poets Adrift" at 1.30pm, with poets David Eggleton, Michael Harlow, Sue Wootton and Poppy Hayes giving readings from a barge at Careys Bay.
The world premiere of Dunedin composer Anthony Ritchie's Frances Hodgkins work will be performed by the Southern Sinfonia in the "Southern Stars" concert in the Regent Theatre tonight.
Tomorrow brings the "Sounds like Summer" concert at the Otago Museum Reserve from midday and "Discover Alice in the Wonderland of Larnach Castle" tours of the Larnach Castle grounds, at 11am and 3pm.
The festival concludes on Monday with the Otago Anniversary Day dinner, hosted by comedian Te Radar.
The inaugural Bluestone Heritage Awards will be announced at the dinner.
