400 at Hawkswood Festival

Press, 27 February 1984, Page 8

400 at Hawkswood Festival

By

JOAN BEGG

More than 400 people gathered in a woodland clearing on a calm North

Canterbury evening during the week-end to watch some of New Zealand’s top talents perform. The occasion was the third Hawkswood Festival, held on the Macfarlane farm near Parnassus. The open-air stage, with its back-drop of trees, was as star-studded as the sky above and the audience was spellbound. The audience, which included people from Christchurch, local farmers and families, and two spaniels, appeared absorbed by the variety and quality of entertainment. Featured in the line-up were the classical Southern Ballet troupe, the modern dance group, Limbs,

and the captivating Topp Twins.

For many members of the audience it was an opportunity to experience and appreciate forms of art they had not watched before.

One elderly man who had never heard of the Topp Twins before they leapt on stage was one of many shouting for encores at the end.

One woman said she had come to Hawkswood hoping to find the New Zealand equivalent of the open-air concerts held in Greek amphitheatres. She was not disappointed. The concert on Saturday evening was the highlight of what for most was an entertaining and relaxing weekend. It was more like a friendly party in many ways, in spite Of the very well organised and profes-

sional performances. Most of the festival-goers camped in the grounds. At midday on Saturday the organiser, Mr J. D. Macfarlane, rallied campers for a gully scramble. He picked up the keen and exhorted the not-so-keen to get on to the back of his truck for a quick ride down the road to the start of the walk. The scramble — over fallen trees, through brambles and along sheep tracks — was made more attractive by the prospect of a swim and free beers at the end.

Throughout the day strains of music could be heard over the cicadas as various performers rehearsed on stage. Watching the performers strain and sweat as they went through last-minute rehearsals reminded those

who watched of the amount of work necessary to produce polished performances.

Nor was the concert the finale. It was followed by a buffet meal, a cabaret featuring can-can girls, a flashdancer and the Topp Twins, and dancing until the not-so-early hours of the morning. Mr Macfarlane said he organised the festivals because the setting with its views of the Kaikoura mountains, copses of untended English woodland, and golden fields was too good not to share. “People can’t help but respond to the fantastic setting,” he said. He is also a keen proponent of the arts, in particular, dance.

Preparation for the festival took months.

“I doubt that it would have functioned without the help of the technical director, my youngest son John,” said Mr Macfarlane. He also had “a fantastic group of helpers who did it for sheer pleasure or masochism,” said Mr Macfarlane. The 20 extras cleared the caravan and concert sites of brambles and long grass, prepared salads and steaks and erected marquees. In spite of a possible financial loss from this year’s festival Mr Macfarlane is already planning next year’s.

“I have already booked the New Zealand ballet for it,” he said. Judging from the numbers of people who talked of attending next year, it looks as if Hawkswood already has a confirmed following.