Newspaper Article 2003 – Finery and aerobatics ensure things start with a buzz

Finery and aerobatics ensure things start with a buzz

Art Deco
Weekend
FEBRUARY 13-16

TANIA MCCAULEY

Napier was abuzz yesterday with people dressed in Art Deco finery, vintage vehicles and aircraft streaking across the sky. It was a thrilling start to the 15th annual Art Deco Weekend.

Above the foreshore and Marine Parade the aerial skills of the five-strong Royal New Zealand Airforce Red Checkers and the Harvard “Roaring Forties” aerobatic teams included mass loops, barrel rolls, low flyovers and hearts drawn by smoke trails specially for Valentine’s Day. It brought cheers and applause from the large crowd, many who stayed on for the two-hour free event, Big Sounds Tonight, featuring the HB Jazz Club Big Band and the Wil Sargisson Band.

Overseas tourists and out-of-towners mingled with locals. Self-confessed Art Deco fanatic Walter Aiken, from Australia’s Blue Mountains and visiting for the second time, described the weekend as “fabulous”.

“It was a wonderful age, the style, the music, the dancing… make it permanent and we’ll move over,” he said.

Joan and Peter Sinclair-James, of Sydney, also came to Napier specifically for the weekend. The first-timers were impressed with the architecture and said with so many events it was hard to decide what to go to.

Lower Hutt couple Kenneth and Beverley Collins had heard of other cities promoting themselves with Art Deco facades. Napier had no need to – it was all genuine and sold itself, Mr Collins said.

By yesterday about half of the 60 paid weekend events were booked out. About 150 vintage cars, and about 60 vintage motorcycles were expected to join in the parade through town early this afternoon.

Tonight about 1500 people would be attending themed dinners throughout the city, and in Ormondville, stopping for a New Zealand Rail style pea, pie and pud meals on the return trip to Napier on JA1271 steam locomotive.

The Royal New Zealand Navy Band will perform twice, tonight from 9.30pm at the Sound Shell, and tomorrow at the end of A Swing and a Prayer, which begins at 5.30pm at St John’s Cathedral.

Last year more than 8000 people were estimated to have turned up for the Gatsby Picnic on Marine Parade and organisers were expecting no fewer tomorrow.

Weekend co-ordinator Peter Mooney said he was pleased to see so many businesses and staff getting behind Art Deco and dressing for the occasion.

The occasional downpour did not deter Art Deco fans from gadding about town yesterday. While parasols might have become more than just an accessory at times, the wet spells were expected to pass later today with fine breaks outnumber the cloudy ones by tomorrow.

A register at the Art Deco Shop, started for people interested in returning for Deco Decanted, the inaugural winter Art Deco event, on July 26-27, already has many names on it including people from overseas.

Train feels the heat but no-one minds

CHRIS ORMOND

It may have taken more than two hours longer than scheduled. but one seemed too concerned when the Art Deco steam train rolled into Napier yesterday evening.

About 200 people, most dressed for the occasion, endured a bus trip to Palmerston North for a rare opportunity to ride in 90-year-old carriages for a five-hour journey through Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay. The initial job of driving the train up from Paekakariki was almost aborted because of concerns about tinder-dry grass, but reassuring words from the right people meant a permit was obtained at the last minute.

“We have to be careful we don’t set the countryside on fire,” one of the officials quietly told us during the trip.

Once across the border and into the very parched-looking Central Hawke’s Bay countryside, sun-heated tracks ensured the journey would be done at a slower than usual pace.

But that meant revellers could drink even more wine, sing along to the man with a guitar and several hundred songs – including television ads – and generally pretend it was the 1930s.

There were also a few “operational stops” along the way, but apparently steam trains are temperamental machines and, scheduled or unscheduled, they do need to stop from time to time.

Although when Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule left his carriage and returned some time later covered in soot, passengers suspected his input in the engine room may have done more harm than good. Either way, people in townships along the line came out to watch it go past, and when it stopped in Otane for some reason or other, hordes of locals gathered round.

Photo caption – STEAMING ALONG: Modern sing-songs, Thirties outfits and even older carriages.
HB TODAY PICTURE: CHRIS ORMOND