.
There will be a lot of people in town over the next five days and of course a lot of them will be (as some kids remark) "dressed funny".
It is the time of the year which kind of echoes that old film from the 50s about the strange
Deco has that Brigadoonery touch to it
It's time to step back in time again.
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I can't touch upon the fashion side of the Art Deco phenomenon because I am devoid of fashion sense, but I know the attire of the 20s and 30s was rather flash.
As will be evidenced at this brief time of Brigadoon (I just remembered the name of that old film).
So yep, there'll be a lot of people about, although as was the case during the weekend stretch of last year's festival, and the one before that I think, there won't be too many from the cruise ship front.
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There's only one coming in, on Friday and shooting through on Saturday evening ... but I guess one's better than none.
I would have thought they'd have been lining up to get into the Art Deco capital of the world on such a special occasion.
Mind you, given that half the CBD will be closed off to traffic getting the great shuttle buses through from the port to the i-site centre would have been something of a mission.
At times, simply trying to negotiate a path through the CBD as a pedestrian can be a bit of a challenge.
It is a most remarkable occasion.
It draws people from all over the globe and some of them even pack their fine old vintage cars into a container and bring them along too.
A few years ago I ended up chatting with one of the Dilmah tea crew.
Malik Fernando, the son of Merrill J Fernando who loved the style and colour of that special period of time and had to come and see what was happening here for himself.
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And Malik came along for the ride, and was staggered by what he saw.
I asked him what he reckoned and he smiled and then shook his head as if in bewilderment.
"I don't know how you do this," he said as he took in the sights and sounds around him.
He had just been watching the soap box derby and it enthralled him.
As did the nearby steam engine which sputtered away...and the seemingly endless processions of amazing old cars.
While up in the sky a couple of Tiger Moths slowly growled across the clear blue sky.
And across the way there were people, dressed appropriately, enjoying a spot of tea while a couple of little boys, attired in smart shorts attached to a set of braces, and little bow ties, played nearby.
With a widening grin, Malik just said "this is so special...I have never seen anything like this anywhere else."
And he had travelled extensively and been to many, many events.
He was stunned at how everything just came together, and how the myriad of events taking place just fused nicely and complimented each other.
And the smiles and the laughter and the music.
Malik couldn't say any more.
He was speechless with awe and delight.
I also remember at that time someone remarking that it surely couldn't grow any bigger.
But yep, it has, and there are scores of new events on the schedule including world class musical outings and for people like me who could barely organise a raffle it is mind boggling how it all rolls along.
It is all so well organised, but in a very gentle way, and that's a big hats-off to the Deco crew and all the devoted and passionate volunteers across the whole board.
They steer a world-class event, simple as that.
And they steer it so well.
The folks at Brigadoon only have to roll up once a century, but the Deco devotees here roll it out every year.
Spiffingly grand.
Roger Moroney is an award-winning journalist for Hawke's Bay Today and observer of the slightly off-centre.
