AT THE FAIR.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 20 November 1925, Page 4

AT THE FAIR.

A SURGING CROWD. ENTERTAINED AND IMPRESSED. Distant music arising from the merry-go-rounds, bustling- traffic in the streets, and crowds of gaily-dressed pedestrians yesterday bore testimony to the Popularity of the Egmont A. and I. Show. It was “people’s day’’; there was a carnival spirit in the air, and from all corners of the province the big attraction drew its copious quota of patrons. Town and country joined forces, and, enticed by the pleasant summer weather, people thronged the streets early m the afternoon, and poured in a constant stream through the big entrance gates of the show grounds. It was a record crowd, and no wonder the anxious officials of the Association smiled broaory On such, tin occasion one is irresistibly drawn into the holiday rush, and, eager to see the numerous attractions and join in the fun of the fair, one soon stands inside the grounds. It is an animated scene. In the foreground, above the moving crowd and the white canvas tents, patrons of the ocean wave are whirled gleefully into the air, while further on a dense mass of humanity watches about two hundred prize animals being led into the oval to form the grand parade. Naturally such a display of the province’s best stock is the biggest attraction of the moment, and one quickly joins the thousands of admirers of such finely bred and beautifully shaped animals. It is pleasing to see them step proudly over the green turf and one takes in the wonderful scene, with Mt. Egmont standing unobscured and snow-crowned in the background, with a sense of the deepest satisfaction. Nature’s pastoral beauty is here displayed in a magnificent setting. Soon the parade is halted and later dismissed, while horse jumping, ear driving, and sheep herding competi - tions follow. The visitor remains at the oval for a time, but in a desire to see something of everything, soon goes on a tour through side-show land. He is shouted at by the proprietors of hoopla stalls, talked at convincingly by the salesman mounted on a packing-ease, yelled at by the man in the circus, nearly deafened by the music of the merry-go-round, and cunningly urged to try his skill at numerous games. After a time his curiosity is satisfied, and when a walk round the pens of animals and a stroll through the produce shed is completed, he w r ends his way home, having voted the show a huge success. —E.J.K.