Vintages, craftsmen and games all in one fair

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34099, 11 March 1976, Page 11

Vintages, craftsmen and games all in one fair

In an effort to raise $20,000 for charities in Christchurch, the Waimairi Lions have organised a country failjust north of the city this week-end. And it is on a grand scale. The fair, being held over two days, is to include a large number of vintage items — old records, traction engines and antique firearms among them — but of special interest will be a wide variety- of artists and craftsmen gathered from around Christchurch, who will be demonstrating their crafts. Most of their goods will be for sale. The craftsmen will beat the fair from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on both Saturday I and Sunday. Among them 1 will be potters at the wheel (300 pieces of pot 1 tery are expected to be on a display), wool spinners and a weavers, rug makers, a J wood carver working at 1 one of man’s oldest crafts, , and a blacksmith with ■ forge, anvil and red sparks ( flying. ■

Lace-making, macrame, leatherwork, china painting and silk screening will also be demonstrated. Posters, T shirts and novelties will be silk screened to order at the fair. Rare crafts Of more rare interest will be corn doll making, stained glass work and wrought iron work, done by hand. Vintage items are always of interest and here there will be a colonial kitchen, replicas of antique firearms and a cannon, a motor court of vintage tractors, cars and motor-cycles, and a display of old records

and gramophones from the Vintage Phonograph Society. For lighter interest the Lions have organised an apple-eating competition (a prize for the fastest apple eater),' pillow fights, hayrides (on trailers pulled by vintage tractors), traction trailer rides, horseshoe tossing with real horseshoes and sheaf tossing — which is apparently quite a test of skill and strength.

Trained ponies from the Belfast Pony Club will give

rides, and Redwood Scouts have organised their own sausage sizzle there. Kokotahi Baud The Kokotahi Band of old-time miners from the West Coast, popular wherever they go, will be at the vintage fair, along with the Derrys Military Band. And square dancing displays are also on the programme. In the vintage section, traction engines, driving

machines like threshing mills and chaff-cutters, will i be working and so will al steam-driven sawmill. Two! vintage fire engines, early! colonial tractors and farm I implements and machinerywill also be there. And' those interested will be! able to see sheep being! shorn with blade shears I and vintage machines. The women’s division of I Federated Farmers will be I on hand to provide coun-1 try-style lunches and teas! on both days, and a “vint-i age” branch of the Bank of New Zealand will give! change.

Three goals Waimairi Lions will have! to raise $13,500 from the fair to achieve the three | goals they have set for! themselves. They are: — a $5OOO grant to allow | the Bishopdale Com-1 munity Centre, now! being built, to be fur- i nished. The community j centre has already) raised $5OOO and that! much again is needed to) complete the furnishing. ! — a vitreous gobbler machine, worth $3OOO, j for the eye department) of the clinical school at' Christchurch Public] Hospital. — a grant for the pur-! chase of a mini-bus j for the Intellectually Handicapped Children’s Society. The I.H.C. has raised $3lOO towards its total cost of $B5OO, and funds from the fair should close the gap. The Waimairi chapter of Lions International was chartered in September, 1974, and has 37 members. This is the first major pro-1 ject they have embarked! on, although they have) been involved in various) community activities.