Wanaka community artist Chrissy Wickes gave the popular playground behemoth its first official paint job in 2018, transforming it from a grey plaster reptile into a colourful superstar with children.
Ms Wickes confirmed this week the Queenstown Lakes District Council had agreed to give the dinosaur a clean and asked her to restore its jagged spine to its former gleaming-white glory.
She has also been asked to repair paintwork around the dinosaur’s face and neck, where it has been worn off by many thousands of hands.
The makeover would happen in March and Ms Wickes expected any closures of the dinosaur slide would be short, possibly in the mornings, for three to four days.
"The paint job has lasted super well.
"It will be the face and the white crest that I will be focusing on," Ms Wickes said.
Wanaka’s dinosaur will celebrate its 50th birthday next year.
It was built in the lakeside playground in 1976 by the Wanaka Jaycees and has stood the test of time.
In 2017, the dinosaur was targeted in a graffiti attack, with the dark words "satan is real" appearing on its left flank, just three months after the council had replaced the fibreglass slide.
Ms Wickes said that led to a decision to give the dinosaur its current blue jacket, decorated with white flowers and red moa.
"The dinosaur had a hard time at New Year [where it was the centrepiece of a violent fight between 300 youths] but there is no graffiti on it ... Since 2018 it has been well respected," she said.
Ms Wickes said she would be working with Wanaka Primary School pupils during term one to create installations for the Dinosaur Playground and the Wanaka Hotel lawn, where the Crystal Palace will be installed during the Festival of Colour.
The installations will be revealed during the festival’s Community Whanau Day on March 29.
Other public, free events on opening day include a dawn plunge into Roys Bay, from the Watersports Facility, aerial dance, clowning, music performances and a cultural welcome with Welcoming Communities.
The will also be interactive art by the Mint Trust beside Bullock Creek and a participatory installation by the People’s Oracle, feature a towering wall of vintage appliances.
Another community project Ms Wickes is a part of is a repeat of her popular "Art and the Albatross" session and art exhibition held in Wanaka late 2024.
This time it will be hosted by the Whakatipu Wildlife Trust in Queenstown on Monday, February 24, from 5.30pm at the Matrix Lounge ($10 at the door).
Ms Wickes is also running Art in Nature sessions in conjunction with Wanaka Community Hub, based at Wanaka Station Park, for up to eight participants, every Monday in March from 10am-noon. The sessions are free.
