What a party! Whanganui Vintage Weekend 'the biggest yet' and there's more to come

Punters aboard the Waimarie on Sunday afternoon. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Bayleys Whanganui Vintage Weekend is in full swing with thousands pouring into town for the long weekend.

Event manager Heather Cox said the cooler weather hadn't put people off attending and it was "definitely the biggest one yet".

Cox said people in the community understood "what this event means for Whanganui".

"They want to be a part of it for the fun aspect, but also for the benefit that it'll bring to their businesses as well," she said.

Heather Cox at the Billy Webb Challenge on Sunday. Photo / Lewis Gardner

"Everybody delivers a good quality event, and that makes my job a lot easier."

Accommodation in the area had been fully booked, Cox said, and buses from Christchurch and Waikato had made the journey to Whanganui for the weekend.

"We think it's been great, and I'd encourage people to take part in our survey that's running at the moment as well, so we know what they think as well.

"It's a snapshot that will tell a story."

Hamish McDouall said Vintage Weekend had been "intense" so far. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall was out and about on Sunday and said Vintage Weekend had been "bonza".

"I've really enjoyed it, and it's been pretty intense because there's so much going on," McDouall said.

"From the opening on Friday, to the Fire Tower getting it's historical classification, down to the Vintage Fair, it's all been really good.

"I spent quite a lot of my time at the various stages yesterday, and it's great to see Mahe [Drysdale] here for the Billy Webb Challenge, along with all the other young guys."

The Vintage Fair was in full swing on Saturday. photo / Lewis Gardner

A highlight of McDouall's weekend had been meeting Stefan Brown, the writer of the 1972's Big Norm, a song by Kiwi band Ebony about New Zealand Prime Minister Norman Kirk.

He was looking forward to today's Plumber Dan Soapbox Derby and was glad that it had "finally returned".

"No one's asked me to get into a box-car this time around, so that's also quite good.

"I did it in my first year [as mayor] in 2017, and I went down in a Postman Pat car. I was told that it was a bit 'top heavy' and that I should keep my arms in if it fell over."

Julie Buchan travelled from Taupo to be a part of Whanganui Vintage Weekend. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Taupo's Julie Buchan said she had a "last minute stall" with her sister-in-law on Saturday, selling steampunk accessories such as hats and waistcoats.

"We came down and did our very first stall, and now we've had to come up with a name and go on Facebook because there was just so much demand," Buchan said.

"I've been to the steampunk festival in Lincoln, England, which has 250,000 people, and it's great to see the steampunk side of things growing dramatically in New Zealand as well.

"As Eleanor Roosevelt said, 'when we're young we like to play up in dress, so why stop when we get older?".

Isis Dennison-Downie (left) and Portia Riley-Curtis (right) at the Riverside Shindig on Sunday afternoon. Photo / Lewis Gardner