Campers sit back and watch Art Deco fun
Auckland sisters Barbara Clent and Heather Roper have “been there, done that” when it comes to dressing up in their vintage finery for Art Deco Weekend in Napier. But while they no longer flail the brollies, scarves and finery of the Art Deco era, it doesn’t stop them enjoying the festivities and coming back with their husbands to watch the revelry and do what they love even more about Napier. “Shopping!”, they say, in unison. The two couples were among about 200 people in the pop-up New Zealand Motor Caravan Association Art Deco Week park on Marine Parade as it started to fill yesterday. The 100-vehicle milestone was passed about noon on Wednesday, with the fleet expected to double by the time the festivities fire up in earnest tomorrow. Clent and Roper, living retirement to the full with respective husbands Murray and David, say the Napier shopping has much more to offer as they zero-in on their purchases: “Clothes!” Relaxing in the folding camp chairs, they would have preferred a beach front view but are unperturbed by having to face Marine Parade, where heavy traffic has for years annoyed locals and accommodation hosts on the other side of the road. “This is fantastic,” says Roper, enjoying the shade. Camp custodian Tony Pye said the visitors pay $10 a night for sites, half of which goes to charity — volunteer food providers Nourished for Nil and Bellyful. The park outgrew its former site at Napier Boys’ High, and is in its third year on the parade, expecting to exceed last year’s fleet of about 180 vehicles, on a first-in-firstserved basis. Napier City Council provides rubbish and recycling disposal facilities, and a shuttle bus service to Art Deco events, for a type of visitor who spends $500-$600 in Napier during the average Art Deco stay, according to surveys. The atmosphere for the 31st festival was increasingly vibrant in Napier yesterday. Dozens donned period wear for Art Deco Trust walks viewing the period architecture in the inner city ahead of a packed weekend programme focusing on fashion, theatre and street life from the Art Deco era which surrounded Napier’s rebirth after the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake.