WHAKATANE'S CARNIVAL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 249, 13 December 1940, Page 4

WHAKATANE'S CARNIVAL

THE approaching New Year should .be 3, bright and. mtny occasion in Whakatane, when for the first time in the town's history an effort will be made to. celebrate the event and welcome in the new period with traditional festivity and fun. The carnival is already well in hand and the s,ub-com-mjttee pet up by the Chamber of Commerce has lost no time in proceeding* with the arrangements. A canvass of the business section resulted in the sum of £50 being raised and almost without exception the scAieme has been warmly endorsed by all who were contacted in the process. It is the general attitude in the town that the carnival, being an absolutely free entertainment for the general public, should be regarded as a gesture from the Whakatane businessmen in appreciation for the support and patronage afforded them throughout the year. This is a most pleasing feature and may be taken as an indication of the general; goodwill which without doubt exists between shopper and trader in this centre. But the carnival, in spite, of the warm spirit which animates it is far more reaching than that. It denotes life, and spells progress, for the greater the initiative shown by a town the more attractive it appears to people outside. Many persons for instance who, believe it. or not, have never heard the name, will read of the activities when Whakatane was en fete, on New Year's Eve. Slowly, but surely, as the event becomes established, it can be relied upon to bring an ever increasing number of visitors. Being the first town in the Bay of Plenty to move in this direction Whakatane will have the advantage of a flying start and will thus become recognised as the proper place to go in this area for real entertainment on New Year's Eve, Details of the programme in hand are already published elsewhere, but it requires more than poster publicity to tell the world of our great New Year's entertainment. Every citizen must spread the good news and assist towards its success. Shopkeepers must co-operate with special window displays and all participants in the procession or carnival as! a whole must endeavour to give his or her best attention to the p/rt allotted), to them. The day s festivities will commence; at approximately 2 p.m. when the children's procession will proceed down the Strand to the Square. From then on till the early hours of'the following morning it is hoped to keep up an endless round of fun and jollification. So much depends upon the event that citizens cannot afford to allow for anything other than its complete

success.