Festival director Philip Tremewan, of Wellington, and board chairman Nick Brown, of Wanaka, say the fourth two-yearly arts festival starting tomorrow will be a true celebration of arts and Wanaka's community spirit.
While the festival includes a touring programme extending to other Central Otago venues, its home is firmly established in Wanaka.
Word had got out that the festival had a special community spirit and people wanted to plug into that, they said.
"Artists can't work properly on their billboards because people keep dropping by ... and artists are building connections, too, and keep wanting to come back [to the next festival]. We may have to start fending them off," Mr Tremewan said.
Mr Brown said key sponsors were repeatedly supporting the festival, as were community trusts, grants organisations and festival patrons.
Supporters' loyalty ensured the board could commission a high-quality programme that included new works never seen anywhere else before in the world, he said.
Mr Tremewan said highlights included the "top-rate, heart and soul productions" of Roger Hall's C'Mon Black and Jacob Rajan's Guru of Chai.
Theologian Lloyd Geering's 60-minute Aspiring Conversations presentation in Wanaka on Wednesday was already one of the most heavily booked sessions.
Nearly all tickets to the world premiere of Riverside Drive, which features Mt Aspiring College and local performers, have been sold.
The festival's sister-festival, WildSouth, also begins its international film programme at Cinema Paradiso tomorrow.
OPENING DAY
The programme for day 1 of the Festival of Colour tomorrow. -
• 8am: Official opening and launch of Pouwhenua, Markers on the Land billboard exhibition on the lakefront.
• Daily: The Kelliher Collection, Lake Wanaka Centre (visual arts)
• Noon: Elixir, Crystal Palace (music)
• 2.30pm: Aspiring Conversations, visual artists, Crystal Palace
• 6.30pm: Riverside Drive, Hawea Flat Hall (theatre)
• 7pm: Rita and Douglas, Queenstown Memorial Hall (theatre)
• 7pm: Guru of Chai, Lake Wanaka Centre (theatre)
• 7pm, 8pm: Hotel, Edgewater Resort (theatre)
• 8.30pm: Micheline, Crystal Palace (music)
• WildSouth Film Festival: Screenings at Cinema Paradiso, from 10am until official launch and more screenings at 6pm.
