Croco, a galaxy far from Earth, will be visited by a bunch of highly excited children when Gerry and the Crocodettes burst into the Nelson School of Music next Wednesday.

The show features a 900-year-old space explorer known as Pat the alligator, Frincess the frog, Herman the yeti and Gerry - the most human-like character on the planet - located "trillions of miles away from Earth".

The show is part of the Nelson School of Music Winter Festival, which starts tomorrow night and runs until July 25.

The woman behind the world of the Crocodettes is Gerry Holmes, a Riwaka mum of four, who began the show a year ago. Since, it has been nothing but business, and the response from children and adults has been fantastic, she says.

The show is just over an hour long and features songs and dances woven with educational messages. It is interactive, with plenty of hand-clapping, foot-stomping and jiggling about, and it is common for children to gravitate towards the front of the stage, Holmes says.

The show features original songs, all written by Holmes and all high-energy, including "the famous Croco galaxy song", Crocodette Rock.

The show's story starts in Croco, a galaxy far from Earth, and home to the show's characters, who the children and their parents can meet after the show.

Holmes is setting her sights high, planning to take the show overseas on a tour of Germany next February and, closer to home, a tour of the North Island during the October school holidays.

Holmes says ticket sales for Wednesday's show have been good, but no matter what the numbers are, the troupe will always have a lot of fun.

• Gerry and the Crocodettes will perform two shows next Wednesday at the Nelson School of Music, at 11am and 2pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and children, or $30 for a family of four. Keep an eye on both Entertainment and Arts in the Nelson Mail for coverage of upcoming Winter Festival events.

- © Fairfax NZ News