The Whanganui Festival of Glass has had a good start to its week of celebrations, with an opening night auction bringing in around $22,000.
Festival chairwoman Lynne Vinsen said Saturday's opening night was full to capacity at 150 people, and was a "spectacular success", with 17 items going up for auction.
Items included glass parrots from Australian artist Nick Mount and a pen and ink drawing from British artist David Reekie.
Having international artists contribute was really important for them, Mrs Vinsen said.
The sale of the night was a piece by Emma Camden, which raised $6000 alone.
Proceeds from the auction went to Hospice Wanganui and the Glass Group.
The hub, in the Rutland Building on Victoria Avenue, which held pieces of art for sale on display from 10am-4pm, made $10,000 over the weekend, Mrs Vinsen said.
There was a constant stream of people from out of town, and they had worked hard to market nationwide to raise the profile of the festival and bring those people into town, she said.
Mrs Vinsen said shops along Victoria Ave had glassworks on display in their windows and people would then come into the hub having underlined the artists they wanted to see more of.
The hub is also home to works from the students at Wanganui Glass School and their official exhibition would be held there on Sunday.
