CHELTENHAM CARNIVAL

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 58, 9 March 1923, Page 6

CHELTENHAM CARNIVAL

BIG EXPENSE, SMALL PROFIT. WEATHER CLERK TO BLAME. The mountain laboured and brought forth a mouse. The people of Devonport laboured in providing a costly carnival on Cheltenham Beach, the expenses being about £1300, and they made a profit of approximately £100. For, this absurd and disappointing state of affairs blame is placed by the executive committee solely upon the unreasonable and unseasonable 'behaviour of the weather clerk during the original three days fixed for the carnival. | Cheltenham Carnival was fixed for ', December 30 and January 1 and 2, but : owing to the unusually wet weather! experienced, the guarantors found themselves, as one man expressed it, "in the soup" financially, and it was decided to continue the show for four extra days, in order that the receipts might be at least equal to the expenditure. i The executive reports that the first day's takings were £450, and it was estimated that on the Monday (January 1) there would be 10,000 people on the beach, the receipts for that day being expected to reach £1000. In point of fact, the day was very wet, and there were only a few hundred people at the carnival, the drawings being a meagre £130. Tuesday, January 2, was expected to yield as much as the Saturday, but again adverse weather played havoc, and only £250 was netted. Thus the income was £830, showing a shortage of £1170 on the estimated receipts. ! The carnival committee had not set out to catch their whale with a mere sprat, for the expense* for the three days were in the vicinity of £900. It n-as decided that a further effort should be made, and the cai-nival was continued until the following Saturday, of course at further expense, as fresh attractions had to be provided. j

HOW THE MONEY WAS SPENT. Some striking features in the way of entertainment at the carnival were provided, such as the beach illuminations and fireworks. Several of the "attractions" which were expected to be a source of revenue proved a dead loss. A sum of £29 was dropped on the woodchopping contest and £28 on the Highland dancing, while prizes for swimming and other trophies ran away with another £30. The band swallowed £40, and the beach illuminations £76. The tents in use cost £40, and cartage (less a donation) £55. The children's sports were a trifling item of £4 12/6, being just over the value of goods classified as stolen, £3 19/6. Printing and advertising cost £228 6/10. On the receipts side of the balanensheet, the stalls, which cost £307 16/6 to stock (and £34 18/10 to erect) showed a certain amount of profit, the drawings being £358 18/4. The goods for the hoop-las, etc., cost £164 4/8, while the returns from the shows and "professional hoop-las, etc." were £199 10/10. The expenses of the jazz floor were £126 6/9, and the receipts were £180 0/3, to which was added £50, obtained by selling the floor to the Stanley Bay carnival. Queen Carnival tickets realised £142 8/2, and against that there was a sum of £23 for Queen's prizes. There were eight donations, ranging from 10/6 to £5, and a ninth donatiot of £134 2/8 from the ferry company. The total receipts amounted to £1444 2/, and the balance in bank is £160 18/1 Outstanding liabilities are estimated at £62 14/, and further assets at £8. The executive committee's report, which is to be submitted with the bal-ance-sheet to a public meeting to be held to-morrow evening at Cheltenham Kiosk, states that the expenditure incurred was not excessive in ordinary conditions, but financial support wae lacking, owing to the inclemency of the weather.