Creative Fibre members from across the Bay of Plenty will be flying in to the Classic Flyers Museum in Mount Maunganui this coming weekend to see the items which have been selected for this year’s Area Exhibition.

The exhibition opens on Friday, August 23 and runs through to Sunday, August 25. 

Sixty items have been selected for the “Fibre Takes Flight” exhibition.

This year’s theme of 'Fibre Takes Flight’ links the Classic Flyers Museum location with the items themselves.

Categories include ‘Light as Air’, ‘Classic Legacy’, and ‘Free as a Bird’.

Members have been exceptionally creative in their interpretations of these titles applying their spinning, weaving, knitting, felting, and crochet skills to fibres of all types, from wool, alpaca, or silk through cotton, flax, or hemp.

Creative fibre work by Sarndra Cowley. Photo: BOP Creative Fibre Facebook group.

Entries will be competing for awards such as the Wairoa Trophy for the most outstanding entry in the Exhibition, and the Esme McNaughton Award for overall Excellence in Finishing. The Pahoia Award for Outstanding Knitting, will be awarded for the first time this year.

This year’s selector, Carol Oldfield from the Waikato, says she is particularly impressed by the quality and creativity of this year’s entries.

“We haven’t had an Area Exhibition since 2018, because Covid interrupted our schedule," says Area Delegate Margaret Russell. "We’re delighted to have such an excellent selection.”

Many of the items will be for sale, so visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to enhance their wardrobes or their homes with a variety of top quality handmade fibre items.

Support for the Exhibition has come from the Tauranga City Council Creative Communities fund, which recognises the growing interest in creative fibre arts. 

Creative Fibre has seven groups in the Bay of Plenty area -  Kaimai Coast, Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Te Puke, Rotorua, Whakatane and Ohiwa.

The exhibition will be open to the public from Friday, August 23 to Sunday, August 25.

More information is available on Facebook at Bay of Plenty Creative Fibre group.