Lots of not so scary crows to greet you at Totara Garden Expo.
Pic 2: BTG050421GE2 Caption: Cute angels to mix with – Demi, Neve and Sailor Short.
Pic 3: BTG050421GE3 Caption: Robin Winter to give you a hug and sell you a recycled Serape.
Pic 4: BTG050421GE4 Caption: Grant Mainwaring to offer you his plants.
Pic 5: BTG050421GE5 Caption: Monique Ashford to advise you on beautifully made wooden bowls.
Pic 6: BTG050421GE6 Caption: Debbie Hart of Hastings to sell you rustic soaps which looked good enough to eat.
Pic 7: BTG050421GE7 Caption: Entertainment on the half hour – Lissy Loushay's performance group.
Pic 8: BTG050421GE8 Caption: Always the inflatable slides and bouncy castle.
By Dave Murdoch
The change of date worked! The sun shone, sponsors (62 local and four NZ wide) were abundant, the stallholders came in droves (60) and so did the public to the Totara College Garden Craft and Food Expo on Saturday, March 27.
In its 26th year, the Totara Garden Expo has become part of the fabric of Dannevirke's entertainment no matter when it has been held but its absence last year due to complications from Covid undoubtedly "made the heart grow fonder" as the old saying goes.
Pronounced one of the best in years by one of the school staff, a queue outside the gate at 10am foretold that customers would come and they were soon welcomed by some imposing but friendly looking entries in the scarecrow competition (won by the Patterson family).
There were stalls everywhere with 20 new entrants from local and beyond – Masterton, Otane, Manawatū, Hawke's Bay, Takapau, Eketahuna, Waipukurau and Feilding.
There was food in abundance. Supplementing the cafe were burgers, sausages, candy floss, hotdogs, iced biscuits, icecream, chips and drinks.
Entertainment started at 10.30am with Miss Lissy's Performing Arts, followed at half-hour intervals by Cindy O'Sullivan's Dannevirke Singing Group, the Love Labels Fashion Show and Origin Studios dancers.
Over in Kid's Corner youngsters could try out the inflatable slide and bouncy castle, pet the sheep, calves, rabbits and chooks, find some posters with Ruby Red Shoes and ride the Fonterra Barrel Train.
It really was like the Land Of Oz and chief organiser Hope Welsh said "it was a great community event and the result of hard work from her team of volunteers".
OPINION: For a healthy 65-year-old Kiwi, living into their 90s is increasingly probable.