In recent years, my partner and I have dressed up for Victorian and Steam Punk festivals in Oamaru New Zealand, so we were intrigued with the idea of doing an art deco festival (which is the late 1920’s to 30s). We were fortunate enough to be friend’s with someone who was lucky enough to win a trip for four to the festival in Napier New Zealand – courtesy of Air New Zealand (thanks so much Air NZ!). The competition was part of a social media / Facebook promotion by Air New Zealand, and the kind of thing you never dream of winning. So my friend was extremely excited about the win and I was very excited when she asked us to go with her and her partner. We had our airfares and accommodation all paid for and entry to six of the organised events, as well as airport transfers. Nice huh!

I’ve got to say straight up, that I was blown away by the Art Deco Festival and if you should ever get the chance do not miss it! It’s almost a sensory overload, as everyone is dressed up in period costume that resembles the 20’s or 30’s (with very wide interpretation, so pretty much anything goes). And the streets of Napier were busy and buzzing with excitement and the wonder of what would be around the next corner – perhaps a troupe of dancers doing the Charleston, some bathing beauties, vintage cars cruising along the streets, or war-bird air planes flying overhead.

Within days of finding out my friend had won, the two of us were off to second-hand clothing stores to find appropriate outfits. It turned out that quite a few items I already owned were in the style of art deco (some needed the help of some added tassels). But the interesting thing was, that once you pair some long pearls, appropriate shoes and a cloche hat with a drop waist dress, you have a 20’s / 30’s look. The men have it a little easier in my opinion, as they simply need some braces over a white or blue shirt, light or dark pants, maybe a waist coast and a boater hat – and they are done.

In the case of my partner Bruce, he likes to go the extra mile, so he was wearing trousers he’d bought from the Historical Emporium website, that were actually technically Victorian trousers, but worked well for the 1930’s. The good thing in particular about these trousers is that they had the proper button attachments for the braces – so they stayed in place all day. The chain in the pocket is an antique-style pocket watch that I gave him for his birthday one year (it was also purchased from the Historical Emporium). Bruce finished off his look with an authentic Irish tweed hat that he found in a second hand clothing shop in Christchurch.

The trip got off to a good start with our group winning another competition – the best dressed people on the flight to Napier. We decided to dress up, and as we were the only one’s that did, we kind of won by default. Participating in a fashion parade down the aisle of an Air NZ plane in mid-flight was a first and probably a last for me (though there was clapping).

On arrival in Napier we were taken to our first accommodation for the weekend Meadowood Country House, a place my friend Emma had discovered and booked prior to winning the competition and decided to still stay at. I’m glad she did, as it was a stunning place to stay for our first night and an excellent way to get into the Art Deco mood.

Our stay at Meadowood Country House

Meadowood is a Bed and Breakfast that’s about half way between Napier and Hastings. It has been lovingly restored by the owners Shelley and Mark Witchalls and very tastefully decorated in the art deco style. It’s simply quite stunning. Shelley and Mark are also wonderful hosts, so I would highly recommend you stay there. An added bonus is that if you walk across their paddock you arrive at a vineyard called Crossroads. We rather enjoyed their wine tasting and ended up buying their Sav Blanc and Merlot (both delicious).

The first night we had a trip into Hastings to check out the market they had on. Hastings was also affected by the Hawke’s Bay earthquake and also has many art deco buildings such as the one below, along with some very funky street lamps.

Our vintage car ride in Napier with Tere

The next day we were in Napier staying in Ahuriri, which is about 5km from the central business area of Napier. Ahuriri is an interesting mix of port, commercial fishing boats, a marina, and lots of interesting eateries and several hotels.

We didn’t get a chance to look around much that morning though, as we were about to be picked up in a vintage vehicle and taken on a tour by the lovely Tere Morales-Probert. The tour was arranged and provided by the Art Deco Trust (a big thanks to them as it was definitely one of the highlights of our trip).

To learn more about the interesting history of the National Tabacco company building and the man behind the company (Gerhard Husheer) visit http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/national-tobacco-company-building

A bit of glam and a vintage air show

We attended several events where we got dressed up for a dinner held in a marquee on the beach. It just happened to coincide with one of the several air-shows they had during the weekend.

The Street Parade

Another highlight of the weekend was watching the street parade and seeing all of the beautifully presented vintage cars with appropriately costumed people inside of them. The parade is very popular so I recommend finding a good viewing spot early in the day.

 

Fashion and Dress ups!

The wonderful thing about the Art Deco festival is that the vast majority of people make a huge effort to dress up in 20’s-30’s era costumes. It might not always be authentically art deco or even of the period, but the spirit of the times is always in evidence and that’s what counts. Plus it’s just fun to dress up and look different for a day or two. Though I can’t help but wonder what a time traveller from the 1930’s would think if they landed in Napier during the weekend!

Napier Architecture

Due to the Hawke’s Bay earthquake in 1931, many of Napier’s buildings were destroyed – either by the quake itself or from the fire that took hold afterwards. Interestingly, the Victorian wooden villas on the hill survived – another reason to build with wood and avoid unreinforced masonry in the shakey isles of New Zealand.

Napier city was rebuilt in the art deco style of the 1930’s and it is widely acknowledged as having one of the best collections of art deco buildings in the world. Here’s just a few examples (including one non-art deco building, but it was nice so it has been included).

The Dilmah High Tea Experience

I’ve been drinking Dilmah Tea for many years – it’s my tea of choice for every day tea consumption so I was excited to be able to attend the Dilmah High Tea in Napier. The founder of the company, Merrill J. Fernando was an official international ambassador for the art deco weekend and he personally attended the high tea event with his two sons.

We got to sample several teas and enjoy some light refreshments. Merill Fernando then spoke about the history of the company and his commitment to making single origin ceylon tea as well as his philanthropic endeavours through the MJF Charitable Foundation.

The Gatsby Picnic

This is not just any picnic, though there is plenty of picnicking going on, it’s not the bring a rug and some chippies kind of a picnic. It’s highly competitive and people put a considerable amount of time and effort into preparing their picnic marquees. The presentation is outstanding, and has to be seen to be believed, with a stunning location on the grassed area by the sea. I think only photos can do justice to how much effort people put into this event.

Final Thoughts and Impressions

Napier is a destination I’d visit even if the art deco festival wasn’t on. It’s Hawke’s Bay after all and there is a whole province to explore with it’s wonderful scenery, food, climate and wine. But a few things struck me about Napier in general. One thing in particular was the amazing cycle paths they have, Christchurch could learn a lot from them. I noticed very few people actually cycling on the road – that’s because they didn’t have to a lot of the time. The people are friendly and welcoming, in fact they were so enthusiastic we wondered if the they were all on the pay roll of the tourism board. “Another perfect day in the bay” was something we heard the locals repeat over and over again. And how right they were. Oh and the antique stores were amazing, as was the shopping in general.

My advice then, is if you get the chance to go to the Art Deco festival go! But turn up a few days early so you can explore the wider area and have plenty of time to go shopping for your outfits. I very much think that you could turn up to Napier without any 30’s-style clothing and go nuts in their shops. Plus it would be much nicer shopping before the festival started, as every shop was packed full of people during the festival. As for accommodation, there’s pros and cons of staying right in town, but my personal opinion is that being right in the middle of the action would allow most people to take full advantage of the different events, as dressing up is actually quite exhausting, so it would be nice to be able to walk everywhere and back to a hotel for a quick change and a cuppa.

Lastly, though there are many wonderful commercial events you can pay to go to, you’d still have an incredible time without going to any of them, you can simply occupy yourself for hours by soaking in the atmosphere, people watching, shopping and enjoying the balmy evenings outdoors in the mall with the music and the dancing and the pretty lights.

So, thank you Napier, we’ll be back!