Shortage of volunteers spells demise of flower and craft day
The cancellation of a major flower and craft day in Otautau highlights how communities can struggle to get enough people to run events, Otautau Promotions president Colin Laury says.
In a social media post last October, the Otautau Flowers, Quilts and Crafts Day committee announced that the ninth annual event would not go ahead on February 29, and would be discontinued.
‘‘Due to a combination of committee members resigning, lack of interest from anyone wanting to join the committee, and a lack of community support for our event, we have decided it is time [to] put the annual event to an end.’’
Laury said the demise of the craft day was ‘‘a real pity’’.
‘‘They pulled the pin because they just couldn’t get enough committee members on the ground.’’
It illustrated the difficulty that small communities had in running and sustaining events.
The event was set to run on the same day as the annual Otautau Car Show.
‘‘By trying to combine the two events by having them on the same day, meant you get different sorts of people to Otautau,’’ Laury said.
‘‘It’s a real pity but unfortunately in a small community, you haven’t got enough people to share the burden of what it takes to run these sorts of events.’’
He said the car show would go ahead as usual.
However, it had also struggled to get enough people to run the show, and had to combine with the Otautau Community Swimming Pool committee to get helpers.
‘‘Otautau Promotions is actively looking for new members. We really need new blood.’’
A few people would have ‘‘quite a few different hats on’’, to ensure that it ran smoothly.
‘‘But we will make a success of it.’’
The car show format would change this year from preregistration to entry on the day, Laury said.
Outdoor events were always risky.
‘‘They just couldn’t get enough committee members.’’ Otautau Promotions president Colin Laury
‘‘It all depends on the weather, and what mother nature brings out on the day. If it’s a nice sunny day, you’ll see nice entries. People will risk taking the car out of the garage. If it’s a dull day, they’ll stay away.’’
In the social media post, the flower and craft group states there were a number of ‘‘loose ends that will need to be sorted out and we will be doing our best to get things taken care of in a timely manner’’.