Carnival fever

Yesterday was a day of carnivals and festivals in town. The Petone Rotary Fair was in Jackson Street yesterday, just around the corner from us, so we meandered along during the day. A small version of the Martinborough Fair, around 300 stalls packed about 2km of Jackson Street, complete with live music and kids' rides. We came away with our fair fudge (of course) and some raspberry-chocolate liquorice; what else is there?


And then it was the big one: the biennial Cuba St Carnival. Several streets in downtown Wellington were closed to make way for stalls, temporary bars, more than 80 bands, and other entertainment. This is topped off by the mardi gras style parade at 9pm. It's hard to describe the parade; the weirdest and most wonderful floats wander past you and the costumes and effects get better every year. We had friends dancing with a couple of the salsa floats. It's the kind of event that just makes you want to get up and shake something.

Whoever decided to plan both of these events must have missed a visit by the logic fairy. It's unfathomable that two large-scale events like these could take place in the same town at the same time and on the same day. What were they thinking?? Both were well-attended, and my friend's band, Shenanigans, managed to play at both events, but stall holders wouldn't have been so lucky. It will be interesting to see what happens in future years.