PARIS ENTERTAINS

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13643, 30 August 1937, Page 7

PARIS ENTERTAINS

WONDERS SEEN BY THE SEINE. Visitors from every corner of the world are being enchanted in Paris by one of the .greatest marvels of history (writes Paul Bewsher in the ‘‘Daily Mail’*). “Enchanted” is the word—for they are being transported to a twentiethcentury fairyland. Its official name is the International Paris Exhibition of Arts and Crafts of 1937—but in actuality it is like some city of fantasy, woven out of strange shapes and changing lights and soft music. All the wealth of art and miracles •vast array of beautiful, picturesque, of modern science displayed in the and queer-shaped pavilions ranged for two miles on either bank of the Seine are scarcely more fascinating than the spectacle presented* by the actual Exhibition itself, especially after nightfall. Because of the very vastness of this undertaking, the Exhibition was some way from being complete when it was opened in the middle of May. Every day since. then new pavilions and palaces have been opened- Now there is more of interest and entertainment for the visitors than can be seen properly in several days. No pavilion.. h.as been opened with any display more spectacular than that which marked the inauguration of the British Pavilion by the Lord Mayor of London. Received at the vast main gate of the Trocadero by high officials, the Lord Mayor walked to the terrace, where he gazed down on a spectacle which made him stop in wonder. Dozens of foreign pavilions of every shape and size faced him across the river. RED, WHITE AND BLUE. Nearest to the bridge on the right stands the British Pavilion in a place of honour, with the Union Jack flying bravely from the rool and terraces (if geraniums and hydrangeas beside it, making a bold display of red, white and blue.

Passing down the wide staircase from the terrace, the Lord Mayor entered once more his waiting coach oil the lower road and drove in state across the bridge to the Pavilion, where Sir Eric Phipps, the British Ambassador, awaited him. After the inauguration ceremony the Lord Mayor made a lengthy tour of ihe Pavilion. The finest specimens of English artistic and commercial products were on display. Ihe craftsmanship of English tailors—always considered the best in the world—and the artistry of English dressmakers w?re illustrated by a display representing a typical English social scene.

•This scene for the first week depicted Ascot, but it will be changed each month in accordance with the seasons.

Spoi ting goods, leather-wear, pottery, glassware, cutlery, printing, book-binding, and many other arts and ciaits in which Britain excels will 1m? shown to the world. There will be a special Scottish exhibit, while Scotland will also be represented by the band of the Gordon Highlanders, who will play at the Pavilion for some days. Highland dances will be given to the music of bagpipes. A NATIONAL FRAGMENT.

Just as this Pavilion is a corner of England wafted miraculously to Paris, so is every other of the fifty foreign pavilions a fragmelit of the country it represents. In a few hours you can tour the whole world—though to inspect thorughly these storehouses of the earth’s riches will take many days. Each one has a surprise. In the enormous German Pavilion, alter examining a fascinating array of exhibits, including a wonderful moving panorama of dolls, the visitor is ask»d to speak in cabinet. He does so, and before him he sees on ai television screen the person to whom he is speaking. Flashing and sparkling on blue velvet in the Belgian Pavilion are diamonds to the value of £4,006,000. Many of tbe pavilions have their own restaurants and cafes, and epicure:: can wander gastronomies lly from Switzerland to Austria, from Palestine to England, at whose “Buttory” characteristic dishes from all parts of our country can be obtained. The “Fifty Corners or the Earth’* contained in the foreign pavilions make an amazing exhibition in themselves, but they are onlv a section of the magic world by the Seine. In the huge “Palace of Discovery’* alone there arc enough wonders of twentieth century science, from mirages to artificial thunderstorms, from cosmic rays to man-made rainbows, to keep visitors spellbound for hours.

Many novel features which arc to be seen in the Exhibition include a 150 ft. high “parachute tower,” for making jumps in safety, a magnificent pin net-ariiim, a' 60ft. high ‘tower of snow.*’ a. vast aquarium, and a full-sized “glass man,*’ in whose body can be seen the organs and the heart sending blood coursing through the system. OBJENTAL VILLAGE.

Tn the middle of the Seine the Island of the Swans has been converted into an African and Oriental Village o 1 domes and minarets and white-walled buildings, where the life and industry of the colonial possessions of France are illustrated in realistic surroundings.

A large group of picturesque buildings with high-pitched roofs and strange towers by the river bank is the Regional Centre, where each district of provincial France is represented by a house typical of the area. Here local productions will be on view, and local wines and delicacies available for visitors.

Another group of similar picturesque buildings houses the great Amusement Park, where thrills and excitement of every kind mav be enjoyed. Small “trains’* of carriages drawn by electric motors take visitors from one delight to another down the miles of avenues and terraces, while a special service of motor-boats on the Seine enables visitors to view in comfort the amazing five miles of buildings beside the river.

The spectacle presented by the Exhibition at night, when the buildings are floodlit and the Seine is a river of liquid fire, is one of unforgettable beauty. Paris—like a woman who buys a new frock to do justice to a new hat—is determined to live lip to her Exhibition. The Gay City is gayer than ( ver, with the finest possible entertainments provided by theatres, music halls, and cabarets to amuse and .attract millions of visitors Railway fares from 'inany countries, including Britain, are greatly reduced—in many cases by 50 per cent.—and every possible facility and assistance is being given to foreign visitors. France is entertaining guests, and France is a superb host.