NAPIER COMPETITIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 94, 22 April 1933, Page 11

NAPIER COMPETITIONS

SUCCESSFUL FESTIVAL

Napier's annual musical, elocutionary, and dancing competitions were brought to a close last night with a final demonstration at the Hastings Theatre, when all the winning competitors appeared in a programme o£ 73. items, which must be something like a record. Mr. J. 1\ Montaguo, Auckland, who acted as adjudicator in elocution, arrived in Wellington yesterday, and speaks in the highest terms o£ the work seen at this year's festival. Competitors were present from Wellington, Gisborne, Palmerston North, Wanganui, etc., and the-standard attained in all sections, dancing, singing, and elocution, was exceedingly high. The most successful individual performer in elocution was Miss Gracie Kerr, of Wellington, who won the championship gold medal, but it was in the children's sections that Mr. Montague found the best results.- He declares that he has never heard better work in children's classes than he heard in Napier this week, particularly in the case of the very young children. Some of it Was phenomenally good. . The judges were Mr. H. Temple White (music), Miss Gladys Smyth (dancing), and Mr. Montague (elocution). The entries were so numerous that the judges had to work from 9 a.m. till midnight every day.