COURTS AND PAVILIONS PACKED.

Otago Witness, Issue 3755, 2 March 1926, Page 28

COURTS AND PAVILIONS PACKED.

LARGE EVENING ATTENDANCE. The rain was particularly unwelcome on Saturday, for besides- that most important outdoor feature of the brass bands’ contest, the A Grade Quickstep competition, the largest number of excursionists that have yet visited the Exhibition during one day, wa3 present to onjoy all that Logan Park had to offer in tho all too short hours between the arrival and departure of the various special trains. Yet as a whole tho Saturday sessions at tho Exhibition wero successful in every way, and the lessening of the businosa done in tho Amusements Park was counterbalanced by tho bustling activity of tho afternoon and evening in the pavilions. The big crowds arrived to enjoy themselvea —come what may—and tho cheerful, busy, atmosphere that pervaded tho whole Exhibition from the lime the main gates opened

in the morning until the fading lights of the Groat Dome heralded the closing hour, provod tiiat the Exhibition in rain or sunshine is an attraction that no one can resist.

Tho question of conducting the Quickstep competition under the conditions that prevailed offerod a problem that was solved by reserving the Auckland, Wellington, Marlborough, and Canterbury provincial courts, and the corridor that fronts each of these displays for the use of the bands that awaited their turn in the Sports Ground. Tho commissioners of the various courts ooncernod gladly assisted the authorities, and the courts were placed at the disposal of the men for the time being. The inspection of each band was carried out in the corridor, and the hundreds of visitors who thronged the pavilions were kept from invading the reserved portion by a squad of police.

In the afternoon the kinema in the New Zealand Government Pavilion reached the attendance total of 250,000, and a short, but interesting, ceremony marked the occasion. The Exhibition Orchestra played in the Motor Pavilion, and the Amusements Park catered for a few of the bolder spirits amongst the younger visitors who were prepared to defy the weather. Seldom have the pavilions been as crowded with visitors as was the case during the afternoon and evening. The big crowds were forced to remain indoors, and ©very court and bay from the entrances "of the Exhibition buildings to the restaurants at the far end of Logan Park was packed. Progress was slow, and at rush hours exceedingly difficult, and stall-holders enjoyed unusually large sales.