Creative director of Safe As Festival Sophie Watkins is single-handedly lifting morale by ensuring Hawke's Bay gets its dose of the creative.
Safe As Festival will be animating the streets of Heretaunga from September 30 to October 10, with offerings from Baroque music to live-streamed DJ sets from balconies.
"It's my mission to raise morale and get people happy. It's been hard to see everyone feeling gutted at the moment, with lots of gigs cancelled due to Covid," Watkins said.
"My opinion is, why feel bad if it's out of our control? Let's just do what we can. So I decided to initiate a smaller version of what was planned for Fringe in the 'Stings," she said.
Watkins, together with director of the Fringe festival Wai Tupaea, has spent the past four months collating an eclectic line-up of talent, which she has repurposed for the Safe As Festival.