Festival of autumn events over decade

Reporter Gary Farrow turns back the pages of the Cambridge Edition for our series, marking a decade of the Cambridge Autumn Festival.

With the Cambridge Autumn Festival fast approaching again this April, it’s a fitting time to look back at what the event was like when it first got rolling.

The Cambridge Edition took part in an extensive build-up to the Autumn Festival in March 2007, airing an extensive roster including a long lunch hosted by the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, an art exhibition, sports games including golf and cricket, and a family Big Day Out on Victoria Square.

The festival also made use of the opportunity to shed light on some of Cambridge’s lesser known gems.

‘‘Take a trip to the rural corner of Kaipaki to visit the Olde Creamery Cafe and see the lavish formal dining room in the historic homestead,’’ one article in the Edition said.

‘‘Across the road is a farm gar- den with over 1000 trees and a stunning autumn-coloured kitchen.’’

Visitors to Cambridge for the Autumn Festival were also encouraged to ‘‘call in’’ at the restored Kaipaki Church on their way back to town to listen to music being played during the day.

In addition, there was an event in the festival called ‘‘A century of brides’’, featuring wedding dresses ranging across the years.

‘‘They have already been for a walk down the aisle and now wed- ding dresses from around Cambridge will be taken out of mothballs and paraded down the catwalk,’’ Fiona Adam wrote in the Cambridge Edition.

‘‘Organiser Debbie Martin said it was probably more of a ‘girls’ night out’ and was overwhelmed at the number of dresses that had been offered for the bridal parade.’’

More than 20 dresses had been volunteered on the first day alone, with the earliest having had its first outing in 1916.

Some of the women taking part in ‘‘A century of brides’’ even had a go designing ‘‘futuristic’’ dresses themselves.

Almost 11 years later, the Cambridge Autumn Festival is preparing to host another event, changing with the times to ensure attendees have a fresh, new and enriching experience. The Cambridge Edition is pleased to have continued its involvement with the festival since its beginning.

CAMBRIDGE EDITION The picture from 2007 shows Win Binns and Jan Schwarz who held the Behind the Hedges House and Garden Tours of some of Cambridge’s most interesting homes as part of the Cambridge Autumn Festival in 2007.

CAMBRIDGE EDITION Cambridge Edition reporter Anna Huston got along to some of the events at the first Cambridge Autumn Festival with her camera at the ready.