THE Festival of the Face is coming. 

From Friday, this Bega Chamber of Commerce initiative will host theatre productions, dance, art and photography installations to celebrate the creativity of those living the Valley. 

“Many artists in all media find our wilderness coast an inspiring place to live and work,” Festival of the Face organiser Gordon Beattie said.

“The Shirley Hannan Portraiture Award was established to celebrate the life of a well-known local and in 2014 we decided to add to this outstanding event at the Bega Valley Regional Gallery by creating the Festival of the Face to showcase and celebrate the work of other artists in the shire in existing local galleries and in some pop-up galleries in unusual locations in Bega and Tathra.”

The official opening of the festival is a family event at Littleton Gardens from 4pm Friday to coincide with the opening of the Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award and Salon Des Refuses at Spiral Gallery later in the evening. 

At Littleton Gardens there will be Andrew Gray’s band The Jonathan Richman Experience, a special guest appearance by Daniel Champagne, Zamboni the magician and the launch of the Giant Knitting Nancy.

“The ‘Giant Knitting Nancy’ is an interactive art piece in Littleton Gardens that people can contribute to building throughout the month,” Mal Barnes, local artist and member of the Bega Chamber of Commerce said. 

“I’ve already knitted about a metre to start it off and I urge people to pop along and knit a bit to contribute.”

There will be numerous other events for members of the community to participate in, including making their own portrait and helping to build a giant papier-mache face, which will be burnt at a community bonfire on June 28.

The community can also share their own portraits and photos online at the Festival of the Face Facebook Page or on Instagram using the hashtag #festivaloftheface. 

The festival program, interactive map and more is available at www.sapphirecoast.com.au.