Festival-goers in St Asaph are set for a wild welcome when a life-size, one-tonne mountain gorilla and an eight-foot grizzly bear take up residence at this year's North Wales International Music Festival.

The striking sculptures have been loaned to the festival by Pendine Park, headline sponsors of the event, and will provide an unusual visual link to this year's theme of Macrocosm: Music and Conservation.

The gorilla will be displayed at St Asaph Parish Church, while the huge grizzly will loom over visitors in the transept of St Asaph Cathedral, the main festival venue.

The sculptures were created by Pendine Park garden team member and chainsaw artist Paul Morris.

He used a dead maple tree from Pendine's gardens in Wrexham to create the gorilla, while a sycamore tree blown down in the grounds provided the timber for the bear.

Their appearance at the festival has been inspired by the passion for wildlife conservation of Pendine Park's chairman, Mario Kreft MBE.

Mario and his wife Gill have travelled extensively in Africa and have encountered gorillas in the wild, including rare Western Lowland Gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mario will share some of those experiences during Mario in the Mist, an illustrated conversation with festival artistic director Paul Mealor at St Asaph Parish Church at 1pm on Friday, September 18.

The title is a reference to Gorillas in the Mist, the film about the life of conservationist Dian Fossey, played by Sigourney Weaver.

The festival says the talk will explore Mario's experiences in Rwanda and Kenya, the majesty of gorillas and their interactions with people, as well as conservation work in the region.

Mario's interest in animals stretches back to his childhood.

Born in Durban, South Africa, he is the son of circus lion and bear tamer Franz Kreft and his Rhyl-born wife Pamela. Mario and his brothers were brought up by their grandparents in the Vale of Clwyd while their parents travelled the world with the circus.

He says his fascination with gorillas was sparked in the 1970s by David Attenborough's television programmes.

After subsequently making numerous trips to Africa, he says one of the most memorable experiences has been getting close to gorillas in their natural environment.

He and Gill have not returned to Africa since the Covid pandemic but hope to travel to Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda in 2027.

The planned trip will have an additional North Wales connection. Mario says they are hoping to visit the area where explorer Henry Morton Stanley met David Livingstone. Stanley was born in Denbigh and spent part of his childhood in the workhouse in St Asaph.

The conservation theme is being woven throughout this year's festival rather than being confined to the wildlife sculptures.

The official programme describes the event as an exploration of the relationship between the natural world and music, with performances and events inspired by landscapes, endangered species and environmental change.

Among the highlights will be a performance by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Tianyi Lu, with harpist Alis Huws and violinist Thomas Mathias.

The programme includes Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending, the world premiere of Cameron Biles-Liddell's new harp concerto Nature's Dance, commissioned by the festival in association with the BBC, and Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony.

Young audiences will also be able to hear Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf performed by NEW Sinfonia, alongside three new commissions inspired by endangered Welsh wildlife – the red squirrel, pine marten and Snowdon leaf beetle.

The festival opens on Thursday, September 10, with international opera star Sir Bryn Terfel, accompanied by pianist Ellis Thomas.

Other events include performances by The Gesualdo Six, the Pendine Young Musician of Wales Final, music from the North Wales Music Cooperative's Fusion Band and a closing concert bringing together Anglesey choir Encôr and Cardiff-based Hen Nodiant.

The ten-day festival runs from September 10 to 19 and also features community projects, workshops and free fringe events across St Asaph.

The programme includes the free Mario in the Mist talk on September 18, alongside poetry, live music, a songwriter showcase and a North Wales Comedy Night. The festival confirms that its fringe events are free and do not require booking, although some events have limited capacity.

The North Wales International Music Festival says its wider community programme includes work with specialist schools, care settings, hospitals and community groups across North Wales, underlining its ambition to make the festival accessible beyond the traditional concert audience.

For festival-goers, however, the first surprise may come before the music begins – with two enormous reminders of this year's message that the arts and the natural world can be closely connected.

And while the gorilla and grizzly bear are made from trees rather than roaming free, they are likely to provide some of the festival's most memorable photo opportunities.