Napier DIY Art Deco Weekend July 21, 2012

Our visit to Napier for the Art Deco DIY weekend was wonderful. Estelle and I drove down on Friday and stopped in Taupo for lunch at Friends Cafe, beside the lake. We had glorious views of the snow capped mountains from our table. It was a lovely day so we had a very pleasant drive, over four hours, but beautiful scenery en route. Albatross Motel was at West shore in Napier, near the sea, so I was able to go for early morning walks along the shore. Not so good if there was an earthquake and/or tsunami though, as we were on a very narrow strip of low lying land and the hill was not within sprinting distance. The motel information folder had instructions what to do. "Don’t wait for official orders in the event of a strong earthquake, just head straight for Napier Hill." Problem is that everyone else would be too and there is only one road! On the Friday night we were welcomed at the opening, in a beautiful Ballroom at the War Memorial Centre, right on the seashore. We were able to eye up the other Decophiles over a glass of complimentary bubbly. Then at the Friday Night Hop, the 22 piece Hawkes Bay Jazz Band entertained us. Some amazing dancers took to the floor. We boogied on the sidelines. We took a mid evening stroll down the Marine Parade in our furs to check out the other venues and found some vintage cars to drape ourselves across. A bit embarrassing when an owner came along, but he took it in his stride and posed for a photo with us. Saturday we went to the Fabulous Flicks, Charlie Chaplin/Laurel and Hardy films showing in the Art Deco Trust Theatre. Lots of fun with a complimentary coffee. Then to the town centre, Dress and Process, where the best costumes were judged. We joined in the fun and paraded with all the other visitors, dressed in their finest art deco gear. As the weather was calm and settled all weekend, I was able to wear my own hats, skirts and tops, with the fox fur borrowed from Athenree Homestead draped over my shoulders. No wind or rain, so no need of a heavy overcoat. The parade was a lovely sight in the town centre, which is beautiful and was all rebuilt Art Deco style after the earthquake in 1931. A ride in a vintage car was top of my list of things to do. We hopped into a Plymouth, very luxurious with leather and sheepskin interior, for a jaunt around the block. Saturday afternoon we enjoyed some great music from Men in Black, a four piece jazz band, at the tea dance in the RSA. Next time we are going to make sure we take a dance partner or two, as there were no spare men to ask to dance. However what impressed me, was that were some spiffing male dancers, all dressed in their finest and entering into the spirit of it all. Saturday night we relaxed at Hooch Mooch on Herschell in the very welcoming Napier Club and enjoyed another jazz duo, the New Mayfair Deconians. They played all the old songs I love with double bass and Guitar/banjo and Banjo uke. Sunday morning we enjoyed a hearty Art Deco Brunch with Bertie at the Med Café on the Parade. Again everyone was dressed in their art deco finery. From there we strolled along to the Memorial Centre where we were entertained by a world famous magician Paul Romhany, who gave us an entertaining Salute to Charlie Chaplin show. Barry and Sandra from BUG, Hawkes Bay uke group, had won tickets to the weekend, so joined us for many of the sessions over the weekend. They invited us to their home. We skipped the Scavenger Hunt and Welax and Wind Down and instead indulged in a bit of retail therapy, then had a uke jam on the Sunday afternoon with members of their group.and a delicious shared meal. It drizzled all the way home but we took our time exploring op shops for Art Deco clothes, for our next Art deco weekend in February. See www.artdeconapier.com for details. I found a very old fur cape in Taupo Sallies and will treasure it as much as the owner did I am sure. After Rotorua it started raining in earnest and we were surprised to find water everywhere as we crossed the Kaimais. It had been raining heavily in the Bay of Plenty and in the Coromandel and there were road closures and floods everywhere. We were lucky to get home but Estelle had to spend an extra night with me before heading home to Thames on Tuesday, via Whangamata, as the Karangahake Gorge was still closed. All very exciting but not for those who were flooded. You can see more photos of the weekend in the last three postings