The annual Arts of Spring event will bring a range of arts and crafts to the St George & St John Anglican Church in Whakatāne this week.

The event opens at 1pm tomorrow and continues on Friday and Saturday.

Reverend Philippa Hales said the best day to attend depended on people’s schedules.

“If you’re not working, the Thursday and Friday are good because you often get a clearer path around to see everything,” she said.

The church will be filled with a variety of arts and crafts, including woodwork, paintings, quilts and handmade embroidery.

One woman will bring 40 pieces of handmade embroidery, while the Eastern Bay Quilters will have a range of smaller items suitable as gifts.

This year’s event will also feature a 3D cross-stitched village, which will be on display but not for sale.

“The lady who’s made every piece of it will bring it in and have it on display and talk about each piece,” Hales said.

Another parishioner will bring plants for people to purchase for their gardens. Last year the man brought succulents and native plants but Hales is not sure what he has this year.

Most of the artwork and crafts will be available to purchase, with the church taking a 20 percent commission from sales to help with its fundraising.

A $5 koha will also be charged for entry, with the money going towards fundraising for the church.

Hales said the church had more than $1 million worth of upgrades that would eventually need to be carried out, including internal refurbishment and strengthening work.

“It will go into the funds to look to furthering those projects and making a difference for the congregation because you can’t stand still,” she said.

The event has been running for about six years after Hales and members of the parish looked for a different way to fundraise.

“We changed its name to Arts of Spring to make sure everybody understood that it was all the arts and craft, not just a festival about spring,” she said.

The event is open to everyone, with volunteers from the parish helping run it across the two-and-a-half days.

Hales said people could purchase items from the first day but will be asked to leave them at the church until Saturday so the exhibition remained full for other visitors.

“It just means that if you come in at 3pm on the Saturday, you still see the same display you saw on day one.”

People purchasing artwork can pay by cash or by making a bank transfer, as there is eftpos.

Arts of Spring will run Thursday from 1pm to 4pm, and Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.