A group of Tarras School pupils hope to be flown to Wellington for the expected unveiling later this year of the preserved body of hermit sheep Shrek, at Te Papa museum - and their Jetstar flight may even be dubbed ''Shrekstar'' in honour of the occasion.
While there is still some uncertainty around when the Shrek exhibition will be launched and what it will look like, a Te Papa spokeswoman said the ''tentative date'' for the unveiling was in November.
The date was still subject to change, however, as the location of Shrek within the museum needed careful consideration, as did other exhibits and programmes which might accompany the display, the spokeswoman said.
The museum also wanted input from Shrek's owner, John Perriam, who was not due back from an overseas trip until the end of this month.
The spokeswoman expected there would be ''a bit of fanfare'' to organise for the exhibition launch, too.
Shrek died in June 2011 at Bendigo Station, near Tarras, and some of his remains were mounted by Queenstown taxidermist David Jacobs and sent to Te Papa several weeks ago.
Tarras School principal Noelene Pullar said Jetstar had agreed to pay for the school's 10 senior pupils to fly to the capital and attend the unveiling. She understood the airline was also considering some Shrek-themed special touches for the flight, including renaming it ''Shrekstar''.
A Jetstar spokesman confirmed the airline was working with Tarras School to support the children's trip.
However, he would not confirm whether the flight would feature a one-off rebranding as no decisions had been made yet on those ''initial ideas''.
Mrs Pullar predicted Shrek's inclusion among the Te Papa exhibits would boost the popularity of two books produced by the school about the celebrity sheep. Therefore, plans were afoot to donate a portion of proceeds from future book sales to Cure Kids - Shrek's chosen charity.
The Shrek story had created a ''lovely legacy'' which would be passed on to future generations of pupils, she said.
''I think it's always going to be part of the culture of this school.''
The rest of Shrek's remains were cremated and Mr Perriam told the Otago Daily Times last week the ashes were still being held at the AgResearch station at Invermay. Plans to scatter them on Mt Cook around the time of the unveiling at Te Papa remained unchanged.
Mt Cook was chosen because Shrek's ''last will and testament'' stipulated his resting place enable him to forever ''look over the high country'', Mr Perriam said.
