Parade a bright festival opening

Press, 27 February 1984, Page 9

Parade a bright festival opening

Christchurch lived up to its name as the Garden City on Saturday when 22 decorated floats graced the city’s streets.

The floats, with morris dancers, clowns, brass and pipe bands, decorated bicycles, and vintage cars, were part of the Christchurch Festival floral parade. The parade marked the start of the three-week festival.

Temperatures to 23deg. brought out many spectators and people lined the route 10-deep in some places. Many had taken up their positions well before the parade began at 2 p.m. The stretch of grass along Rolleston Avenue and Park Terrace, where the parade began, took on a picnic atmosphere as deck chairs and sun umbrellas were set

up. Others preferred vantage points from car-park buildings, balconies, statues, and trees along the way. A few watched from cars parked in advance along the route. Some motorists, stopped at intersections that crossed the parade’s path, left their cars and watched until the way was clear again. Most were good-humoured about the delay. The parade was led by the Skellerup-Woolston Brass Band, followed by the 3ZB and Christchurch City

Council floats. The latter showed a floral version of the city crest. Other floats included the Ellesmere County Council’s entry, complete with outsize black swan and rushes, a Christchurch Transport Board’s bus covered in flowers grown by the board’s drivers, Cathedral Squares’ float with squaredancers, and the Canterbury Public Library’s mobile library.

Behind them were the American Field Service float with the scheme’s 12 exchange students to Christchurch from other parts of the world taking part, the Waimairi District Council’s float with a miniature Aqua-land waterslide, and a replica of the Deans’s cottage on the Riccarton Borough Council float. Several animals got in on the act. Ponies carried young riders in fancy dress and horses pulled a carriage and a gig. Two cows followed the Milk Vendors’ float; a clown, with bucket and spade, followed the cows.

Between the floats were clowns, dancers, and bicycle riders. Parade marshals, some with radio-telephones, accompanied the floats, which took about an hour to complete the route. One group, which received deserved applause

from the crowd was the Splinta Stilt Theatre Company. The four stilt walkers marched and danced in unison to a drum-beat. If there was a prize for stamina it must surely have been theirs. Cameras were much in evidence, especially when the floats stopped in North Hagley Park near Victoria Lake at the end of the parade. Several floats were loaded with extra blooms which those on board tossed to the crowd. These were collected as eagerly as lollies at a lolly scramble by young spectators and most of the crowd of about 14,000 went home with a hydrangea, a chrysanthemum, or a nasturtium.

Festival organisers were delighted with the tutn-out and response to the floral parade, the first Christchurch has had for 30 years. The events manager, Mr John Page, said the parade had been a good start to the festival proper. The Ministry of Transport had officers at each parade route intersection directing traffic. A spokesman estimated the crowd to be 10,000 to 15,000. Motorists were well behaved and patient, he said.

“No-one threw anything at me but flowers,” said one officer on point duty.