NEXT MONDAY'S FETE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 272, 27 November 1879, Page 2

NEXT MONDAY'S FETE.

The people of Sichm&ad are expecting " a big day" next Monday, when the fete is to be held in aid of the locai Fire Brigade. The programme has been published, and probably all are acquainted with its contents, so that it is unnecessary to refer to it in detail. As to some it may appear not altogether en reg'e that the Volunteers should take part in such a demonstration, it is perhaps as well to explain that the members of the force are desirous of arailing themselves of the opportunity the occasion offers of bidding farewell to Mr Canning, who has done bo much for them, and we may add that a presentation from them to that gentleman, in recognition of the many semces he has rendered, will form a hitherto unpublished item of the programme. With very few exceptions, all who have been asked have contributed liberally either in kind or in money towardi the day's proceedings. The lunch in itself will be a sight worth seeing. It will be laid in a tent 100 ft X 3oft, the coverings for which have been gratuitously lent, and arrangements will be made for seating 400 at a time at tables, the timber for which ha 3 been given, as well as the coverings, fifteen dozen yards of calico having been presented for the purpose by some of the drapers. The bill of fare, but for the absence of dried shark, lillipee, and such like luxuries, is in its dimensions almost suggestive of & Pari haka feast. The principal items, the whole of which are gifts, aro as follows : 124 quarters of lamb and four gallons of niiut sauce, one fat calf, four porkers, 3cwfc corned beef, 26 hams, 300 loaves of bread, two cart load 3of lettuces, cases of preserved fish, pickles, and condimeta of all kinds, four hogsheads XXX, a cask of English bottled beer, three caaea of spirits, and six cases of wine. For the tea, the following articles have been promised :— 2O lbs of tea, two bags of sugar, a lot of jam, unlimited butter, and 2 cwt. of cake. Smokers have not been forgotten, a box of cigars appearing among the gifts, and several knives and folks have also been presented, as well as subscriptions in money, amounting to over £20. There are a large number of other gifts of various kinds, and the cooking is to cost nothing, several of the residents in the district having undertaken that portion of the work. The Volunteer Band will be in attendance, and a costume cricket match will be played in the afternoon, when the following will be some of the characters represented -.— Toby Touralouraloo, East and West End, Mother and Miss Gum, a Red Indian, a Ploughboy, Dick Turpin, Dr Pangloss, Miles Na Copleen, Policeman X 45, a Court Jeater, Paul Pry, Jem Bagga, Cuffee Esq., Sambo, an Italian Clown, Yankee Squirt, Grandfather Ben, Father Time, a Negro and Negress, Cocoa, Ben Bowline Shabby Gem eel, Ching Chang, &c. Not only will Mr Canning throw cpen to the public the paddocks in which the sports are to take place, but also the whole of bis beautiful grounds, and paths have been cut through the shrubberies for the convenience of those who prefer a quiet stroll to the bustle of the crowd, so that Volunteers, cricket players, and others, after their work is done, may seek the seclusion the plantation grants, accompanied, if they are so disposed, by their Bisters and their cousins and their aunts, or, should they prefer it— ag possibly some of them may — by the sisters or the cousins or the aunts of other people. After tea, which will commence at four o'clock, two enormous bonfires will be lighted, and the town and country fire brigades will have an opportunity of displaying their skill in the celerity with which the engines will be brought to bear, and the flames extinguished In the evening there will be a concert and dramatic entertainment, the latter having been taken in hand by Mr Glover. Special trains will run at convenient hours, and the biggest crowd ever seen in Nelson is expected to be gathered together on that day if the weather should prove propitious, which, after the manner in which it has conducted itself for the last six days, is surely nothing more than we have a right to expect of it.