Thousands brave rain for fun at the fair
A few rain drops threatened the Petone Fair at the weekend but didn’t stop tens of thousands of people joining the festivities on Jackson St.
Petone Rotary president Gary Lewis said at the upper end he estimated about 25,000 people came along for the day.
‘‘Being so wet and also the forecast saying thunderstorms - I think that encouraged people to not turn up.’’
Despite the slightly lower turnout, the number of people coming through was good and the atmosphere was still great. Lots of families spent their time wandering up and down the street and less people also meant it was easier for everyone to move around.
He also said this year, they had tried something different with the food stalls and grouped them all in one area, rather than spreading them out up and down the street. Overall, it made for a great day.
‘‘Everyone seemed to be enjoying it and we had really good support. The groups who use [the fair] as a fundraiser have done quite well,’’ he said.
The Petone Fair has been running for 26 years and Lewis said it had only been cancelled once in its history.