UNION ROWING CLUB.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5748, 17 December 1896, Page 4

UNION ROWING CLUB.

— — - FA k tfC¥ DRESS CAENIVAL. The success of the Union Eowing Club's fancy dress carnival and fair, opened on Tuesday in the Opera House, will be great, indeed, if it be proportionate to the efforts made to obtain it. The promoters must have worked hard to have presented so attractive a spectacle, and collected so large I and varied a stock-in-trade for the "fair." Great credit is due to all, and in particular I to the directress, Mrs Milsora, the director, I Sir F. E. Hyman, the stage manager, Mr I T. Ashman, and the honorary secretaries, I Miss F. Lezard and Mr F. M. Collins. ' Much of the effectiveness of the spectacle I was dne to the decoration of the hall. The j fronts of the .stalls arranged under the sides of the gallery, and lighted with fairy lamps, were exceedingly pretty, and J harmonised well with their gay and j varied contents. The pillars above the . gallery were draped in pleasing tints and j hung with bannerets. Floral baskets , were suspended from the roof, and the . banners of the various football clubs, _ kindly lent for the purpose, adorned the front of the gallery. The stage was sui*rounded by fine-f oliaged plants in pots, and at the back was a small cascade, constructed by Messrs Eose and Whitmore. A fountain, erected by Messrs J. and T. Banks, illuminated from beneath, and embowered in flowers and ferns, occupied the centre of the hall floor in front of the stage. The plants and floral decorations were supplied by Messrs Nairn and Sons. As if to couterbalance the fountain, a large and well-laden Christmas tree, under the care of Miss Shadrack, stood in front of the main entrance. On either side of this entrance a brilliant show was made with the prizes for the art union in i aid of the same object as is the carnival, the rebuilding of the club's boatiiouse recently burned down. There are 120 prizes ranging from a 70-guinea American organ, and the inevitable suite of furniture and bicycle to nick-nacks of all sorts. Beneath the gallery to the right of the doorway, Mesdames Allen and Fry presided over a comfortably furnished and prettily decorated and well-supplied refreshment room, with an extemporised kitchen fitted up ■ in one of the side entrance lobbies. Adjoining was a Japanese stall tended by Misses Eayner and | Gill. Besides a large assortment of the wares of the Land of the Eising Sun, it contained 'a good collection of Christmas cards, looked after by Miss Samuels. The next stall bore the name of the Union Eowing Club, to which the ladies in charge paid the compliment of wearing its colours. This stall was superintended by I Mesdames Glover and H.* Fleming and i Miss F. Lezard, and was lavishly stocked ! with plaM and fancy goods. The pretty stall adjoining, with the attendant ladies I attired in Kate Greenaway costumes, was in I charge of Misses Cavanagh, Healy, Hobbs, and Parson. The stock was excellent and varied, and a number of prettily-dressed dolls were a prominent feature. The little office wherein the Secretary superintends the drawing of the art unions got up during the fair, and a telegraph instru- ■ ment in communication with the gallery, s occupied the right-hand corner in front of the stage. On the opposite side of the hall, in a "gipsy tent" of the "bell" pattern, Mrs Virtue told fortunes quite d> la Zingara. Next door, proceeding towards the left hand entrance, was a stall bearing the singular title of "Confusion," presumably because in attire and in the selection and arrangement of the stock each lady had elected to follow her own sweet will. Misses Glover, Atkinson and Smithson superintended it, and the result of their disunited efforts was highly successful. At the adjacent stall, with its tasteful floral decorations and Christmas tree, Misses Simpson, Fry and M'Gregor sold sweetmeats. Next to this Misses Lee and Burgess superintended a branch establishment of the Japanese stall. Following in order was the gipsy stall, tinder the. direction of Mrs Tribe and Miss Badcliffe ; a flower stall, named after Dv Maurier's most-talked-of heroine, and presided over by Misses Williden, Lezard and Watkins, presented a charming scene, with its little fountain and beds of ferns, pot plants and flowers. One of the rooms upstairs, guarded by a brazen-voiced janitor, was occupied as au v Art Gallery/ The additional lights required were kindly put in gratuitously by the Gas Company. Mi T. Crook supplied the limelight, of which very effective use was made, and the furnishing' was done from A. J. White's. It must tiOt be omitted that besides the ladies flamed, a large number of young ladies and gentlemen in fancy costumes gave their help. After a selection played by the Stanmore Band outside the Opera House, and an overture by Mr H.Corrick's orchestral band inside, the carnival was opened by the Mayor-elect of Christchurch, Mr W. H. Cooper, who highly complimented the ladies and the other promoters of the gathering upon the brilliant spectacle, and the fine display of articles in the stalls, and upon the excellence of the prizes in the art union, He was, he said, sure that the public would help the Club to the utmost of their power, and he had great pleasure' in declaring the carnival open. Mr E. C. Bishop said that as the representative of several athletic associations, he wished to testify to their sympathy with the Union Eowing Club in the destruction of its boathouse, and his hope and trust that the members of all kindred societies would do their utmost to assist in repairing that loss. Mr Cooper then turned on the jet of the the fountain, and a very pretty march was performed on the stage by a number of the ladies m handsome fancy costumes.. A cajrital miscellaneous programme was gone through during the evening, including vocal items by Mrs Jones, Misses A. Corrick, and Hilda Meadows, and Messrs Eussell Halley and Eosewarne ; recitations by Mr Ryan ; a selection by the Ladies' Estudiantina Band ; an exceedingly pleasing lantern march by a bevy of little girls ; a decidedly effective " grand wheel parade " by members of the Cbristchurch Bicycle Club ; and very well arranged athletic, sporting and national tableaux. Tho attendance was very good and the business satisfactory. The carnival will be opened at 7.15 p.m. to-day, and at eight a programme of music and spectacular scenes of various kinds will begin.

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