26 February 2015

 

Art Deco weekend is overwhelming in it's sights and sounds.  Whereas you can wander around the streets any other day and your brain is trained to block out the normal (attire) during Art Deco it simply can't.  Everything is an assault on your senses.  Working with that we find it helps to choose just one or two events to focus on.  This year it was the Born to Move dance encore (for the girls) and the Automobilia parade.

 

The former gave a top notch hour-long dance performance, and the later boasted over 250 cars this year.  

 

The parade was definitely too long to really captivate and hold one's attention and unfortunately inconsiderate public stood right in front of where our family had been waiting in the blazing sun for 45 minutes for it to begin.  Disappointing.  

 

The dance encore however combined story, music, theatre and dance - one of my favourite being the Gershwin's 'Blah, blah, blah" below.  The infatuation between the couple was palpable and had me wishing I was their age falling in love again.

 

[These images were taken from about 50m away from the stage unfortunately so not as crisp as I would have wanted but good enough without a telephoto lense.]

Bringing Gershwin's 'Blah Blah Blah' to life

 

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH"
Originally written for East is West
Used in Delicious (film) (1931)
Resurrected for Nice work if you can get it on Broadway in 2012
 
LYRICS BY IRA GERSHWIN
(Music by George Gershwin)
 
I’ve written you a song,  
A beautiful routine.   
(I hope you like it.)   
My technique can’t be wrong:   
I learned it from the screen.   
(I hope you like it.)   
I studied all the lines that all the lovers sing;   
Then just for you I wrote this little thing:  
 
Blah, blah, blah, blah, moon.  
Blah, blah, blah, above;   
Blah, blah, blah, blah, croon,   
Blah, blah, blah, blah, love.   
Tra la la la, tra la la la la merry month of May; 
Tra la la la, tra la la la la ‘neath the clouds of gray 
Blah, blah, blah, your hair,   
Blah, blah, blah, your eyes;    
Blah, blah, blah, blah, care.   
Blah, blah, blah, blah, skies.   
Tra la la la, tra la la la la la, cottage for two--   
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah darling, with you!   

 

 

Madison Bowey, http://www.starnow.co.nz/MadisonBowey

 

 

Sailor's proposing to their captain that they need women on the ship!

 

 

A couple of the multitude of Art Deco buildings that can be seen any day in Napier if you only look up; and a couple of fly-over shots.

 

Emmerson St, Napier

 

Public Trust building, Napier

 

Fly-over up Emmerson Street, Napier

 

Aerobatics at the top of Upper Emmerson St, Napier

Hawke's Bay
19 February 2015

 

Due to hosting exchange students in our earlier family life, and home educating our children, we are always on the look out for how to discover our local community, events and activities.

Initially there was and still is the free local community newspaper (most areas have these) delivered to our letterbox; but now there is also a nationwide website Eventfinder to help find out what's on.  It seems that an increasing number of new individuals & organisations are using this medium making it more of a comprehensive go-to guide. 

The useful option with Eventfinder is that you can subscribe to their RSS feed and get alerts straight to your inbox, and this is what we do for any free events.  Occasionally you get the surreptitious marketing of a free-but-you-really-pay event and the gig-in-the-pub-which-actually-is-an-invitation-to-drink event but on the whole for our area there are at least a couple of family-friendly activities that we can choose from each week.

The trick, especially leading up to the coming Art Deco weekend is limiting the number of 'things' you do or see.

 

It's probably preaching to the converted if you do have young children but my advice is only one per day preferably in the morning when children are more rested.  Well at least that's what we find and particularly if not all of the family are on board with the chosen experience - you can't please everyone all of the time. 

 

Here are some of the things we do to get the seven of us on the road and try to stay sane:

  • Let the children know where we are going and what exactly we are doing.
  • Tell them how to dress for the outing; and if they should bring a back-up activity like a book.
  • Set a leaving time and if possible let them know when we are likely to return.
  • Take our going out basket with plenty of water and food; and sun-block if summer.
  • Plan for toilet / playground stops / breaks.
  • Catch the children being 'good' and reinforce good attitudes (we're still working on this)

 

In our house sometimes 'what's there to do?' actually involves consciously choosing 'nothing' and staying home to relax and just be -  usually at the parents insistence as younger children always appear to have the energy of the Everyready bunny (if it's for something they like!).  We might get a dvd out to watch, work together on a(n art) project, bake or cook together, or play board/table games - those that want to that is.  

There is always someone who would rather not participate which as the CO-parent (Chief Operating parent) I find frustrating.  I am learning that a child's 'do I have to?' is really just their way of saying 'I want to feel as if I have a choice too please' and am trying to work with this.  Sometimes this means giving them the choice of not participating if this is an option; of acknowledging their feelings and apologising that for this time they don't have a choice; or finding out what they would rather do and trading it off against what is planned.

 

Hawke's Bay

How do you manage balancing your family's needs and wants?

04 December 2014

An incredibly talented artist in residence outside the function centre

 

There was no doubt that a lot of planning and money went into making the Havelock North Carnival BIG last Saturday.

It was big on stalls, big on music, big on bouncy castles, photographers and fire engines.

There is nothing wrong with that unless you are a young child, mind auditory overload or value your privacy.

 

Vega and I snuck into an op shop or two and that was a welcome break from the noise and crowds.  She even bought a flowing white dress which was rather a deviation from her regular style.  I am sure she will change it somehow though!

 

The boys liked clambering in and through the fire trucks as always, and Kita took a shine to a random scissor lift left at the roundabout (probably for the $1000 cash drop which we definitely weren't staying for).  They didn't get to jump on either bouncy castle though as waiting times, locations and logistics didn't make it easily possible.

 

The day was fine but windy which saw several stall-holders and buskers literally having to hold onto their wares.

Most visibly the silk artists who were hanging onto billowing fabric suspended metres above the ground, from a tripod strung together by wire running from each leg across the grass.

 

While this may be a fun, family day out for some, I feel it would better suit older independent teens and adults who could venture forth wherever they pleased at their leisure.  With children in tow you simply don't have the opportunity to really look at what was on sale; and the poor wee tikes get so bored being dragged from one stand to the next.  

 

What I found the most fascinating were all the various art and craft groups at the Function Centre who were showing us how it was done, not just trying to sell us something.  Potters, quilters, felters, painters, weavers etc.  I could have happily sat and watched the painter (above) complete the piece he had started.

 

One of several silk artists who braved the winds

Hawke's Bay

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