About 950 people gathered in Anderson Park wearing red, all for a good cause. They formed into a circle, making a giant red nose to publicise next week's Red Nose Day to Cure Kids.
They ranged from preschoolers to school pupils and adults and their effort was filmed to feature in a telethon screening on August 24 - Red Nose day.
"I'm stoked. This effort was insane," Cure Kids fundraising and business development director Josie Spillane said.
"A quarter of the town's population turning out - this just shows how much heart this community has. The Cromwell community's renowned for its generosity, not just to Cure Kids, but they support so many other causes too."
The suggestion of forming a giant red nose had "taken on a life of its own", as early childhood centres, schools and businesses banded together to support the cause, Ms Spillane said.
"This sends a message to parents of children with life-threatening illnesses that they're not fighting the battle alone."
Red Nose Day: Comedy for Cure Kids will screen on TV3 on August 24.
One of the presenters of the show, former All Black, Highlander and Otago rugby player Josh Kronfeld, was in Cromwell yesterday to watch the "organised chaos" as the crowd was manoeuvred into a giant circle before a helicopter carrying a film crew swooped over the grounds.
Kronfeld, who lives in Auckland, said it was great to return to Otago.
"I love being back - jumping off the plane at Queenstown and smelling and tasting the air here.
"There's a briskness in the air unique to this area."
