A light installation had to be removed from New Plymouth’s Festival of Lights after it was vandalised on Saturday.
Events Lead and Festival Manager Hayley Olliver said damage to the Lily Pads installation, a series of light sculptures which depicts frogs and flowers on the leaves, was still being assessed. The display was removed for “safety purposes”, leaving 15 other light features for the festival.
“If possible, we hope to get them repaired and back in place as soon as possible,” she told 1 NEWS in a statement today.
“Our team works really hard each year to put on a high quality event for our community, so incidents like this are always upsetting.”
She said the matter was now with police.
Lily Pads was designed by Australian Zara Pasfield and Peruvian Renzo B. Larriviere.
Police confirmed to 1 NEWS they received a report about “damage to a light display” at the park shortly after midnight yesterday.
A man was taken into custody at the scene and was given a formal warning, a police spokesperson said.
The annual event at Pukekura Park started on December 19 and runs until January 31. It is run by the New Plymouth District Council and draws in crowds of more than 150,000 people.
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