Art helps to bolster town
THE inaugural Whitsunday Regional Exhibition beginning tomorrow will showcase some of the best art the region has to offer.
Exhibition co-ordinator Suzi Janicki said she decided it was time to start the exhibition after seeing a friend close down their local business.
"He was such a success all the time and then all of a sudden, bang, he was gone," she said.
Ms Janicki hopes the exhibition will bring in more tourism, helping to bolster businesses like her friend's.
Although the doors are yet to open, it seems the exhibition is already a success with hundreds of entries, more than a dozen categories and thousands of dollars worth of prizes on the line.
"We're expecting 300 artwork entries," Ms Janicki said.
"We've got 75 teenage artworks in the exhibition so far."
Exhibitors will even get the chance to have their work critiqued by professional pastellist Penelope Gilbert-Ng and pit themselves against artists from all over the state.
The show will be held at the Reef Gateway Hotel function room.
Friday night will see the grand opening run from 6.30pm. Tickets are available from Smart Arts for $30, which includes a couple of drinks and catering.
The show continues through the long weekend, running from 10am to 3pm.
Entry is by a gold coin donation.
