COME TO DUNEDIN WEEK.

Evening Star, Issue 21116, 31 May 1932, Page 8

COME TO DUNEDIN WEEK.

Much spade work has beeu put in by the promoters of the “ Come to Dunedin Week,” and it remains with the people of the city to make it a memorable one. Towards the end of last week the prospects from the point of view of the weather were not bright, but the threatening conditions have passed, and to-day the prospects are most encouraging. With an invigorating day following a sharp frost, our community project was launched under auspicious circumstances. We have the reputation here of taking our troubles seriously, but wo have reason to bo thankful that they are not so deepseated and so many as those that are being recorded in other places. Nothing will be gained by pulling too long a face and “all our kingdom” being “ contracted into one brow of woe.” Our traders and shopkeepers have been looking forward hopefully to the event. It is true that the resources of a great many people are severely curtailed and their purchases must necessarily be restricted, but reduced spending may be overdone by numbers who are not yet at the last pass. The splendid community spirit that has been displayed in helping the unemployed can also be extended to the business people who to-day have to carry on under especially difficult conditions. There is no danger of excessive frivolity, since the main purposes of Winter Show Week, with which the “Come to Dunedin” movement is associated, are educational and serious. It would be a good thing for the winter show to be varied every year by an increase of those brighter associations on which emphasis is now being laid. A glance at the programme will show that there has been a judicious blending of entertainment and serious business. In the former section music, including community singing, takes a prominent place, and in this connection we are beginning to realise what an asset to the city is provided in tho now Town Hall. On the utilitarian side, in addition to the attraction of the Winter Show, which maintains its popularity unabated, there will be various gatherings associated with our primary industries. The show comes at a moment when tho farmers can spare the time to come to town and combine business with pleasure. The farmer today has to keep himself up to date if he is to succeed, and the facilities provided at tho Show give him an insight into the latest methods and developments. In addition, he is able to exchange views and experiences with those in the same line of work as himself, and to get the benefit of the export advice of tho officers of the Agricultural Department. In the past the citizens have been generous in their patronage of the Winter Show. It is now firmly fixed as a feature of Dunedin’s yearly activities, and any movement for its consolidation and extension is to bo encouraged. The success of this year's plans will be an incentive to the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association, the farmers’ Union, and the various civic bodies to renew their energies next year.