Crowd of 8000 enjoys 63rd Blossom Festival. Video / ODT
Great weather made for a blooming successful Alexandra Blossom Festival at the weekend.
A crowd of more than 8000 revelled in the festive atmosphere of the 63rd edition of the annual event on Saturday as temperatures reached about 20degC.
Alexandra Blossom Festival event manager Martin McPherson said it remained a community-led staple.
"It's not just done by a committee or myself, it's done by this whole town ... the effort they make for floats and sheer commitment and support of the organisation of this."
Aboard the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat float is princess contestant Hannah McCullough. Photo / Adam Burns
The Combined Lions Clubs of Alexandra won best contemporary float. Photo / Adam Burns
Spectators then carried on to Pioneer Park for an afternoon of stalls, attractions, food, beverages and entertainment featuring veteran rockers The Waratahs.
Although organisers had made tweaks to the festival over the years, the Blossom Festival relied on a formula which "works", Mr McPherson said.
The traditional values the event was built on remained an important touchstone.
"It's quaint and slightly old-fashioned and that's good."
Police said they were generally happy with how the weekend went, and there were only a few arrests for minor matters.
Twins Madi and Morgan Leng (6), of Queensberry, bump into a friendly statue. Photo / Adam Burns
However, the amount of youths drinking and being disorderly around Pioneer Park on Friday night had been concerning, Central Otago sub-area supervisor Senior Sergeant Clint Wright said.
"There was a large amount of visiting vehicles from around the lower southern area who were reasonably well behaved. However, [they] had heavily intoxicated passengers."
