Tauranga secures Crystal Palace for art festival

The Crystal Palace will remain a fixture at the Tauranga Arts Festival thanks to a donation by Paul and Cheryl Adams, pictured with festival director Jo Bond (left) and trust chair Kathryn Lelllman.

The Pacific Crystal Palace's chandelier, banquette seats and sand-blasted mirrors have been secured as a venue for the Tauranga Arts Festival.

The Palace, a relocatable venue which had been used by the festival since 2001, was purchased by five different festivals which all used it and that formed a trust headed by Tauranga Arts Festival director Philip Tremewan and current festival director Jo Bond as deputy.

Ms Bond said their one-fifth share was possible thanks to a private donation.

"It's got its own history inside it. It's really a wonderful venue."

It had formerly belonged to a company in Wellington but some of the owners were wanting to seek retirement.

"We were worried when it went up for sale it could be sold offshore. We really value it as a music venue. We approached lots of different people about being a partner, and in the end we managed to put a consortium together and was able to make the purchase two months ago. It's very exiting."

Festival Trust chairwoman Kathryn Lellman said the palace was an integral part of the festival, and purchasing the share meant they now had certainty around the venue.

"Venues are one of our biggest costs," she said. "Given a lack of publicly available venues in Tauranga, securing the palace is really important for the continuity of our festival. There was a concern that if the palace was unavailable it would put us in a very difficult position."

For the next five years the venue will be known as the Carrus Crystal Palace, as Tauranga's share was donated by Carrus Group founders Paul and Cheryl Adams through their trust, the Bethlehem Charitable Trust.

* The Tauranga Arts Festival will take place between October 19 to 29, 2017.