Art Deco

Lee and I joined Jo and the Trebes tribe for a trip to Napier, to take part in the Napier Art Deco festival. Steve and Marianne Trebes (John's nephew and his wife) had very graciously and bravely invited all of us to stay with them in Clive, a few kilometers from Napier.

It was a family affair, as John's sister Billie, his sister Tricia and her husband David from Australia were also attending. And since we had two cars and space for one more on the trip, Billie's friend Tuppy rode down and back with us, as she has family in Hastings. So, it was a party of 8 from Hamilton to Napier!

Our first stop was for coffee in Tirau. Our second stop was for lunch at Lake Taupo, then on to Napier! Napier is located on the west coast of the north island, about 4 hours from Hamilton.

Napier was hit by a huge earthquake in 1931, and when they rebuilt, all of the buildings were in the art deco style. New buildings added since also have the art deco architecture and it's a beautiful little seaside town. Each year they have the week-long art deco festival. Everyone gets into the spirit with dress from the period, as well as old cars, machinery, etc. It's very difficult to get accommodation anywhere near Napier, so we were very fortunate to be invited, and were very much looking forward to it.

We arrived at Steve and Marianne's about 5:00 pm, and were greeted by Marianne and baby Leo (16 mos.), who reached out his arms to all of us, to be held! Steve got home about 5:30, and we had a fabulous dinner. With 7 of us, and 3 of them, that meant 10 for dinner! The weather was gorgeous and we were able to eat outside. After dinner, and while Leo was getting ready for bed, we walked with Steve down to the beach where he and Marianne got married. It felt really good to be going for a walk after dinner and all those hours in the car!

Friday we got up, had coffee/tea and breakfast and headed into Napier, but didn't dress up. There were old cars everywhere, and people dressed up from the 30s. We went to an antique faire, with vendors from all over New Zealand, which was really fun. We spent the day in Napier, enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch by the sea, and arrived back at Steve and Marianne's about 6:00.

Marianne had prepared a wonderful spaghetti feed for us, complete with salad and garlic bread - yummy!

Saturday morning we all got in our art deco duds, including Marianne and Steve, who were riding their vintage motor bikes in the parade! A good friend came over to stay with Leo, and off we went!
The parade was fabulous - I've never seen so many vintage cars in my life! The array of art deco clothing was amazing, too - we even saw a couple dressed up in 1930's wool bathing costumes - must have been itchy! The guys looked fabulous in their vests and hats, and all of us ladies had great fun with all of our accessories. We got photographed a lot! It was really easy and fun to get into the spirit of the day!

There was tons of entertainment - singing, bands, etc. There were costume contests (we didn't enter any) and just general merriment! We all went to lunch together, and Tricia summed it up best when she said that attending art deco weekend should be compulsory every year! There's no doubt that we'll be doing it again, it was such a blast!

Saturday night we all went out to dinner, most of us in costume. For some reason, Billie and John left the 30's and returned to the 21st century, but we let them come to dinner, anyway!

What an amazing event! Thank you Steve, Marianne and Leo, for making it possible!

First stop on our journey to Napier - Tirau! From left to right we have John, me, David, Tricia, Jo, Billie and Tuppy.

One our walk to the beach after dinner on Thursday night - you can see the ocean waves in the background. Same cast of characters, with the addition of Steve on the left.

The Trebes tribe! John, Billie, Tricia and Steve

As we were walking through the field to get to the beach, we came across this sign!

After our picnic lunch on Friday. It was a little cool on Friday, but gorgeous on Saturday.

Tricia, David and Jo took a tour on the tractor, around Napier. Billie, John, Lee and I toured some of the art deco buildings in Napier.

Tricia and David.

Art Deco Saturday! That's Marianne in her vintage motorbike outfit. And yes, those are teddy bears on Lee's vest!

Lee and I. We had a great, shady spot to watch the parade.

Me, Jo and Billie, looking very "art deco"!

Here we all are!

And again, with one of the many vintage cars.

Steve, John and Billie. Steve is wearing a vintage 1920's leather riding coat!

Steve and Marianne with their bikes, as the parade was about to start.

Note Marianne's goggles!

More of us!

Some nice person took this shot of the 7 of us.

The guys! Aren't they handsome??

Here come Steve and Marianne in the parade!

Marianne and Steve at lunch

This is an amazing, street-legal, 3 wheeled vehicle!

John and Jo with the delivery bike.

Ready for dinner! Yes, I had a dinner outfit, too! : )

Here we are at dinner - Billie and John are at the end of the table, as they were out of character! The restaurant was great, and the food was fabulous!

Tricia and John

Tricia and David

The end of the evening and a wonderful day!