Past and present celebrate
Past and present came together for the 60th Alexandra Blossom Festival.
Over 15,000 people celebrated the long-time community event on Saturday, lining Alexandra’s main street for the grand parade led by the Central Otago Vintage Car Club driving the festival’s former queens.
Alexandra Volunteer Fire Brigade life member Keith Nichol’s idea of creating a past and present Otago Central Rail Trail float was a winning concept and won the People’s Choice.
Chief fire officer Russell Anderson said the brigade was ‘‘stoked’’ with the win that had took its members countless hours after shifts in the evening to complete.
‘‘We don’t count the hours but it is a heap of work. That is why we only enter every two years because of the amount of work involved for an organisation that is busy anyway.’’
They made the float from scratch using a car damaged in an accident and donated for the brigade to cut up.
‘‘The engine still worked so we built a train around the car.
‘‘One of our life members, Keith Nichol, is our float guru and has been for as long as he has been in the brigade. He retired last year after 39 years.
‘‘He came up with the concept of the rail trail.
‘‘Sixty years ago they had steam trains on it so we used that theme and added bikes on the back and a painting looking through a tunnel.’’
Caitlin Turfus, 17, was another winner on the day. The Year 13 student, representing the Men’s Shed, won the festival queen title.
‘‘I’m still shocked really. With being with the girls for the past two weeks you start to create an idea in your head of who is going to win and who is the biggest competition . . . I wasn’t expecting it at all.’’
The experience had been great and an ‘‘eye opener’’, she said.
‘‘It has not been hectic or anything. It has been really cool just to meet new people and especially being the 60th anniversary with all the former queens from the past. I got to meet the first queen from 1957.’’
The princesses had spent the past two weeks being judged and attended festival events.
Sarah Vilela,16, came second and Kylie Wilson, 18, third.
Event organiser Martin McPherson said a crowd of about 15,000 attended the event which he described as ‘‘the best day ever’’.
The park was covered in picnic rugs late into the early evening as people settled down to enjoy music from the band The Magnificent Seven, fronted by musicians Jordan Luck, Peter Urlich and Eddie Rayner.
''I got to meet the first queen from 1957." Festival queen Caitlin Turfus