Latest news with #MelissaEdwards
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Morbid reason controversial festival has come back to life this year with massive crowds
The Dark Mofo festival is roaring back to life, offering brave punters a chance to lie in a coffin. Artist Simon Zoric's Coffin Rides performance piece in Hobart resulted from the realisation that humans spend more time lying in these six-foot boxes after death than they do being alive. 'I find it strange that you would spend all this time in a coffin but never know what it felt like,' Zoric said. Early figures show Dark Mofo has already welcomed 210,000 visitors, an improvement of some 30,000 on the first week of the festival's last full-scale program in 2023. The event took a little lie down itself in 2024 to contend with a massive hike in production costs, but the first few days of the 2025 festival show Hobart's main winter attraction is back at full force. 'I do think interest this year is very strong, and perhaps last year had something to do with that,' Dark Mofo executive director Melissa Edwards said. Attendance peaked at more than 16,000 people Saturday evening, and artistic director Chris Twite says the feedback so far has been great. 'I get a chance to talk to people on the street and see the city alive and full,' he said at a media event on Thursday. 'I think a lot of people are really excited - locals and businesses and tourists.' The excitement is happening under the eyes of an unmissable five-metre-high giant hand/face sculpture affixed to the roof of a hotel on the Hobart waterfront. Ronnie Van Hout's sculpture Quasi was controversial during its original installation in Christchurch - it looks a little bit like Donald Trump, or possibly Elon Musk - and it is yet to be seen whether the artwork will meet with the general approval of Hobartians. An exhibition at MONA by artist Arcangelo Sassolino has attracted more than 11,000 people across four days to see liquid steel - heated to 1500C - showering from the ceiling of a darkened gallery. The festival's second week features DIIV and The Horrors at Hobart's Odeon Theatre, and Methyl Ethel at the Princess Theatre in Launceston. Also still to come are the traditional winter feast and Ogoh Ogoh procession, during which a giant model Maugean skate is set on fire, followed by the Nude Solstice Swim on June 21.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Seaside Seabird Sanctuary rebuilt after hurricanes thanks to Greater Good Charities
The Brief The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary was rebuilt after the recent hurricanes thanks to Greater Good Charities. When a wounded or injured bird is found, the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary takes them in to rehabilitate and care for them until they can be released back into the wild. Greater Good's Pet Program and Construction Team brought in the lift vehicles, netting and other construction equipment to rebuild the outdoor aviary enclosures. INDIAN SHORES, Fla. - When a wounded or injured bird is found, the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary takes them in to rehabilitate and care for them until they can be released back into the wild. But when the 2024 hurricanes sacked the Pinellas coast, it was more than the small non-profit could handle on their own. "Hurricane Helene and Milton really was a two punch for us," shared Melissa Edwards. She is the Avian Hospital Director at the Sanctuary. "Helene flooded all of our buildings (and) all of our enclosures; and then Milton really did some damage to the netting that makes up all of our seabird enclosures." The backstory If they had been a traditional business, they would have been out of business. However, those same hurricanes caused injuries to birds, and the venue is the home to 100 birds that cannot be released due to the nature of their injuries; so shutting down was not an option. "We had over $600,000 in damages after both storms, and that's a lot for a small non-profit," admitted Edwards. READ: Incredible Duck Race raises money for Kiwanis Club of Tampa Volunteers helped with the physical cleanup of the property and donations helped to fund the renovation work for the structures. However, some of the bird enclosures required technical help that was beyond the skill level of local volunteers. That's where Greater Good Charities was able to help. What they're saying "We love working with other non-profits that are doing great work like this," shared Zach Baker of Greater Good Charities, "Because we can take our construction expertise and come in and get them back on their feet; so they can do what they do really well." Greater Good's Pet Program and Construction Team brought in the lift vehicles, netting and other construction equipment to rebuild the outdoor aviary enclosures. "This has just been a huge amount of netting," said Baker, "It's a 3rd of a mile of rigging that's been going up, just a ton of material. Our construction team that is here now specializes in renovating for animals." In the course of just a few days the entire outdoor habitat area was repaired or rebuilt, and all for free. "To be able to have another non-profit who helps so many other organizations supporting wildlife and animals," stated Edwards, "It's really humbling that they saw our purpose and really thought it was important enough to help us out." What you can do The facility is open again thanks to all the volunteers and help from other non-profit groups. To learn more about the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary to visit or support them financially, you can click here. To learn more about Greater Good Charities and their mission around the world, you can visit their website. The Source Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Travis Anthony. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
