February 3 marks the 93rd anniversary of the Napier Earthquake, the disaster which gave rise to the city’s art deco rebuild. Napier’s annual Art Deco Festival, a celebration of its unique buildings and the erait sprang from, has suffered from its own share of disasters in recent times with Covid and last year’s Cyclone Gabrielle, meaning it hasn’t run since 2020. But it’s back from February 15-18 and actress Antonia Prebble has been appointed its “chief costume officer”. Her early duties included striking very deco-statue poses in the Napier Soundshell. Built in 1935, it was the first of the curvy outdoor stages which were soon popping up around the nation. Napier’s one was driven by the Thirty Thousand Club, a local promotional agency. It’s not clear how much it cost but, undoubtedly, it was an outrageous fortune.
