Giant mushrooms and spaghetti to light up Hastings city centre

UV Spaghetti will be installed in Albert Square, consisting of 2000 m of glowing rope. Photo / Supplied

The Christmas lights in a Hawke's Bay city this year will be just some mince and pasta sauce away from a giant bolognese.

Cities across the world light up in the lead-up to December 25, but in Hastings the council's regular Christmas lights will this year be joined by two, slightly more unusual art installations.

The first, Shrooms by Amigo & Amigo, installed in Civic Square will be lit on November 28, the same night at the Christmas tree in the city centre mall.

The Shrooms are large inflatable mushrooms – five of them of various size, shape and colour.

The giant mushrooms will be installed in Civic Square. Photo / Supplied

The council said in a statement that they tick all the boxes for interactive installations: bright, big, up to six metres tall and mesmerising.

The large mushrooms, which are a symbol of good luck in many cultures, encourage social interaction and bring colour to the urban environment.

Amigo & Amigo designer-in-chief Simone Chua says: "We love hijacking public spaces, embedding them with colour, nature and play."

With bold, contrasting colours the mushrooms not only illuminate at night, they are also a colourful spectacle during the day.

Then, following the last free outdoor movie night on November 29, the second installation, UV Spaghetti, will appear in Albert Square on November 30.

Created by Auckland based light artist Angus Muir, the work comprises of 2000 metres of glow-in-the-dark ropes.

The immersive, interactive display has previously been showcased in light festivals throughout New Zealand.

Both installations are brought to Hastings by local artist Anthony Van Dorsten of Vesica Aotearoa.

The Hastings library and City Art Gallery will also be making the most of the Shrooms while they are in place, the library holding story time under the installation, and the gallery having a number of art programmes running alongside it.

Daily kids' art activities will be set up outside from 3pm to 4.30pm every weekday from November 28 to Saturday, December 12, and on the weekends (November 30, December 1, 7 and 8) from 10am to 2pm.

Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said council was committed to investing in the city centre to increase its vibrancy and create an environment people want to do business and socialise in.

"These lighting installations are just the kind of thing that draws people into the city, and brings them together to experience something new and exciting.

"While you are enjoying the other Christmas activities that are starting in the next couple of weeks, we encourage you to take time to explore the city centre a bit more and visit these artworks while you are there."

The installations will be in place until December 13.

As well as the art installations, there are only festive activities happening in Hastings during the silly season, including the night markets, lighting of the Christmas tree, and Santa's grotto.