A group of 19 stone carvers and about 20 visitors were welcomed by Waitaha representative Jerry Banse to the start of the Oamaru Stone Symposium at Takaro Park on Saturday.
The carvers will spend the next two weeks at the park creating works of art from 26 tonnes of Oamaru stone for a silent auction at the end of the event on November 19-20.
On Saturday, representatives from Waitaha opened the symposium, which held every two years, in a moving ceremony.
After morning tea, the carvers, from around New Zealand and one from France, started work on the blocks they had been allocated.
Many will work all the time daylight has to offer, and some into the night.
One of the event's organisers, Matt King, said there was no doubt that what people would see created from the blocks of stone would be "truly wonderful".
Each day people would see the progress of each creation.
Acknowledging the stone carvers who were attending, he also said the Oamaru community and businesses had been very supportive of the event.
