A GIANT bumblebee and snail will descend on QEII Square as part of opening celebrations for Albury's MAMA next month.
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The monster creatures are part of an entertainment pageant to celebrate the new art gallery which opens on October 2.
Gallery director Jacqui Hemsley in unveiling details of the event on Friday said the Big Night Out in QEII Square would be stunning.
"We want the local community and the regional community to have a party and see different things," Ms Hemsley said.
"It's a whole new experience and it's very contemporary and it's very different.
"It's more than a street party, it will be like a cheoreographed event in the square.
"If people are expecting balloons and sausage sizzles they'll be disappointed, it's going to be much more."
The opening celebration is being co-ordinated by artistic director Elizabeth Walsh who helped established Tasmania's Ten Days on the Island festival and was involved in the Flying Fruit Fly Circus in the 1980s.
An inflatable bumblebee up to 14m high has been commissioned for the event and it will be joined by 3.5m snails.
Strange Fruit, who perform a combination of theatre, dance and circus on top of high swaying poles will also appear and projections will be done on buildings about QEII Square.
MAMA will open to the public from noon on Friday October 2, with the Big Night Out from 5pm to 10pm.
Ms Hemsley said from next week the council would be taking bookings for the opening day through its website.
"We have a limit of 300 people in the building and we're doing that so that everybody can check out the artwork and the building," she said.
“I urge people to connect with MAMA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and to subscribe for MAMA updates at mamalbury.com.au/subscribe.
"If you subscribe to MAMA you'll be the first to know when to book your tickets.”
The gallery will be open from 10am to 4pm on the Saturday and Sunday for those wanting to avoid opening day crowds.
![Is it a bird, is it a plane: Strange Fruit with orbiting figures will be among the attractions at MAMA's opening next month. They will hover over QEII Square. Is it a bird, is it a plane: Strange Fruit with orbiting figures will be among the attractions at MAMA's opening next month. They will hover over QEII Square.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/XJLgPnEdnKaFugZzKyL6Sw/d876cc3e-b74e-47c9-ac0d-3ac607c189a7.jpg/r0_37_1012_655_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
![Hands up for excitement: MAMA director Jacqui Hemsley is promising a cavalcade of entertainment for the opening of the art gallery. Picture: MARK JESSER Hands up for excitement: MAMA director Jacqui Hemsley is promising a cavalcade of entertainment for the opening of the art gallery. Picture: MARK JESSER](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/XJLgPnEdnKaFugZzKyL6Sw/a8a27c0b-1a85-458e-bd74-80a91bf3b7f9.jpg/r298_0_3031_5141_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)