Sunday, November 27, 2011

Victorian Fete: Picture Overload

I'm sorry to tell you but this is where I am blogging from this gorgeous late Friday afternoon. I just found out that the UV rays in NZ are 40% higher than equal latitudes in the northern hemisphere (due to the hole in the ozone layer).

SULLIVAN: MY KIWI BOYFRIEND



Yikes... for a second, but them I felt all its warm love and I forgot my worries (they immediately burned up in the laser-strength sun rays).

Last Sunday we ignored the rain and ventured an hour and a half up north, along the coast, to Oamaru to take in the Victorian Fete.

I WASN'T ABLE TO GET A COSTUME TOGETHER. THIS IS THE BEST I COULD COME UP WITH

CHRISTMAS CRAFTING ON THE RAINY CAR RIDE


I may have taken 200 plus photos in 3 hours. I'm getting worse. My camera's shutter speed can't keep up sometimes.

Musttakepicturesofeverything!


YOU COULD FEEL THE HEAT COMING OFF THE CONVERTED TRACTOR- STEAM ENGINE
 This means that you're going to be subjected to a LOT of photos of the fete.

Oamaru is a very cool town that boasts a Victorian precinct and a steampunk headquarters (more on that another post). Aside from the drive through the town on the way down to Dunedin from Christchurch when we arrived, Scotty and I have come up to Oamaru twice on our own.

SPEAKING FROM HIS SOAP-BOX. THE KIDDIES IN THE BACKGROUND JUST KILLED ME

SPOTTED: AMAZING CONCEPT FOR A COSTUME

Originally, i had thought that Scotty and I would dress up. Budget, time and materials made me realize it would not happen, but had I been able to pull it off, Scotty and I would have been dressed much like Kirsten Dunst and her Soldier lover in Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette" (that movie triggers so much creativity in me).

The number of people dressed up was impressive. I would say that the costumed people outnumbered the people who didn't dress up. I even spotted a family who had not only dressed up their 2 preschool aged children, but also pushed their baby twins (also in costume) in a  gorgeous antique pram. My kind of people.


IS IT JUST ME, OR DOES THE JESTER LOOK LIKE MICHAEL JACKSON?

There were some incredible antiques and vintage clothing on sale. I think that because of all the old family farms down here- the antiques are especially good. I found a pair of very old spats in a vintage shop in town and they were only $90 NZ! Something like that in Vancouver would easily have sold for $250. I am hoping i can find a cool pair of eye glass frames before I leave and then get my prescription put into them when I get home.

"WHISKEY" BAR
 I only picked up a couple scraps of vintage Liberty of London fabric. A girl can never have too much fabric. I am hoping to collect a bunch of scraps while I am here and then make a crazy quilt out of them when I get home.

I SPOTTED THIS HUTCH FROM ACROSS THE WAY AT "WHISKEY" AND NEARLY FAINTED FROM EXCITEMENT
 The pastel paint-chipped wood slats in this hutch have inspired an idea for my own kitchen (if that ever happens)- I'll just keep in in my back pocket until then. Love when that happens- when something just screams "Hey, I was made for people like you!"


EVERY KID NEEDS ONE

INTERESTING BOOKS BEING SOLD. IT WAS A USED-BOOK SALE MEANING THAT SOMEONE ACTUALLY BOUGHT THESE NEW. NOTE: THE "NAKED ROWER" IS PERSONALLY AUTOGRAPHED. HA HA

THESE MASKS WILL BE CREATED

AN ART GALLERY ON THE THIRD FLOOR OF THE OLD GRAIN WAREHOUSE (NOW CONVERTED INTO A RESTAURANT AND BAR BELOW)
Whoever bought the old grain house in Oamaru is brilliant. The bottom main floor boasts a giant restaurant and a big pub area (the pub is photographed above), the third floor is a beautiful art gallery. All three fall under the "Whiskey" name.

I started swooning and couldn't stop. I loved the space! I'm sure Scotty got tired of hearing me ooooh and ahhhhh over and over and over again.  The high ceilings, the giant, peeling beams, faded wood, curved windows... the light up there was incredible- it just glowed. I am so glad that whoever designed it had the smarts to leave a lot of it as it was. That uniqueness created over years and years of wear n' tear cannot be replicated.



THE ORIGINAL STAIRCASE LEADING UP TO THE ART GALLERY. NOTICE HOW THE HANDRAIL CURVES. IT IS HELD IN PLACE BY SUSPENDED STEAL RODS. KIND OF SCARY.

COSTUMES, STREET PERFORMERS AND AN AMAZING OLD CAMERA

We weaved in and out of all the shops and the warehouse spaces lined with crafts and used goods. The rain did a good job of soaking my jacket, but it was warm and I was tingling with inspiration- it couldn't have been more perfect.

Unless you could have joined us.

SPOTTED: INSPIRATION FOR MY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

THE LIGHTING IN THE OLD BOATHOUSE WAS DREAMY

NEXT YEARS HALLOWEEN FEAST THEME: VICTORIAN CIRCUS... HEAVY ON THE FREAK-SHOW



WOODEN BICYCLE

WHEELS FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY



HAT SHOP

SCOTTY HELPING A STREET PERFORMER GET HER HULA HOOP LIT



Just as we had decided it was time to head back to the car, Scotty spotted crowd of fire dancers way down at the other end of the street. The rain had picked up at this point an created a kind of haze and hushed the street around us. As we neared them, we could hear the accordion and the jingling hundreds of tiny bells (attached to their pant legs and ankles). It was all very dream-like.



FIREDANCE



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