2014 International Art Deco Festival

NAPIER ART DECO

2014  International Art Deco Festival arrived in Napier on a hot February weekend with over 35,000 attendees willing to strike poses dating back to the 1930's.  When the doctor and blonde woman learned New Zealand accepted their visa application, the Art Deco celebration ascended to the apex of the future activities chart.  One quarter of the packing space from the USA was devoted to the kingpin of dress-up weekends.  Now it arrived.  The blonde woman smiled.

Tom, Cheryl, Dawn, and Peter

     Hawke's Bay wraps Napier and Hastings in a fruit bowl and vineyard successfully supporting the local economics.  The combination of sun, soil, and adequate rain turned the region into whatever wine and fruit need.  Dawn Willis once again escorted and hosted Tom and Cheryl around the region while Peter worked harvesting the apples….Tom empathized.  A couple wineries, a micro-brewery, a tour of the fruit company, a beach-tractor trip to the gannet's nests, and amazing New Zealand home cooking provided the entertainment precursor to the Festival.

      Napier suffered an earthquake in 1931 altering the coastline, destroying the city structure and claiming hundreds of lives.  The community coalesced and the architectural motif of the 1930's guided the reconstruction.  Every year the city celebrates its survival and the Art Deco era.  The self-absorbed, demonstrative culture surrounding art deco allows us a retrospective look at an attempt to seek happiness from materialism.  The 1930's provided very few people the ability to seek the materialistic life style.  Nevertheless, whoever had the wealth flaunted it.  Now they are objects of humor.  Much humor.

Out for an afternoon drive with Peter's new convertible

One of 800 roadsters made

 Where to does a young woman go on a weekend day in 1933?  Elda Louella found her hat in the closet, gloves in the bureau, and pearl necklace just any old place.  She proceeded to the Main Street to find who from Millionaire's Row was trolling.  If this outfit did not do it, she had another.

She ran across some friends in the park having an ostentatious lunch with contraband in the baskets.

She met some new friends who were home on leave.  Most people gathered on the green for weekend displays of success, and then promenaded through the parks to see who was strutting.








In the midst of the thousands of Art Deco attendees, some stood out.  Impossible to pick the most genuine, but fun to try.









The moment occurred.  A culmination of effort to locate the perfect outfit for the International Art Deco Bathing Belles contest.  Months had been invested finding the suit and accessories.  With over 35,000 people at the festival, the competition was expected to be fierce.  Everything needed to fall in place.  Cheryl's team of experts maintained exemplary efficiency.  The competition began with a Master of Ceremonies dressed in the 1930's male swimsuit…unfortunately.

A photo submitted for its pathologic value

THE WINNER OF THE 2014 INTERNATIONAL ART DECO BATHING BELLES CONTEST

Yes, there she is!  Miss Bathing Belle Contest Winner.  What a moment.

You are also looking at all of the contestants!  No one else entered.  The team believed that all other competitors ran away when they viewed the blonde woman in the contest.  Hey, a win is a win.



A number of the jealous non-winners of the Bathing Belles contest hung around for unknown reasons.

The auto that Cheryl did not get to ride following the contest.  Sometimes fantasy stretches only until it stops.  This would have been a nice car to ride.










Then, the night came and the dancing began.

Then the dancing stopped.  The weekend came to an end.  And the Art Deco fantasy ceased.

                                                                         Or, did it?