Christchurch Children Spend Happy Day

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 34, 6 March 1931, Page 6

Christchurch Children Spend Happy Day

Huge Attendance at Radio Picnic

THE Broadcasting Company brought f ‘happiness to. several thousand city children on the afternoon of Saturday, February 21, when a public picmie was held under its auspices. It ‘is. estimated that four to five thousand "ehildren, parents and friends were present. It has been the practice of the Broadcasting Company to entertain ‘each year the young performers who help at the children’s session, but this "year the picnic was thrown open free for all. Notwithstanding the fact that the outing had been postponed ‘from the previous Saturday, the childyen of Christchurch responded to an ‘extent that exceeded .expectations and ‘pienickers came from as far south as Rakaia. ; ; . The picnie was a remarkable suc--eess, not only from the attendance point of view, but also from the manner in which the children enjoyed themselves, It had been splendidly organised, the weather was ideal, and "nowhere could a better site for such a picnic be found than the pretty "grounds at the Addington trotting "eourse, From the day that the 3YA Child"yen’s Session Advisory Committee, "under Mr. D. B. Parton’s chairmanShip, considered Mr. Harris’s sugges‘tion that the picnic should be: open to ‘all, everyone worked whole-heartedly, ‘and Saturday’s picnic was the result. "To -Miss- Maynard Hall, organiser of the 3YA Children’s Sessions, well ‘known as "Aunt Pat," too much ,credit ‘cannot be given for the success of the .day’s outing. , ~ Side-shows and amusements there ‘were in plenty and all were free. No ‘@hild had a dull moment. Throughout the whole afternoon a ‘miniature railway carried packed ‘Joads of children up and down a hundred yards of track. There was keen competition for seats, but the Broadeasting Company officials saw that all children were fairly treated. It was no easy matter regulating this traffic, for "boys will be boys," and the stronger would have monopolised the railway. But the hard-taxed officials enjoyed it all equally as much as did the young folk, ‘At the end of the day one’. re-

marked: "I’ye had a wonderful time. I must have put at least a thousand tiny children on that train." The train was certainly a great draw. Every time the little engine’ whistled everyone ‘at the picnie knew that it pulled a full load of ecstatic young passengers. The whirling merry-go-round was patronised to its limits; so were the ponies and the donkey and an old Cobb and Co.’s coach. The Punch and Judy man and the Jack and the Beanstalk man performed to admiring audiences crowded round their stalls. The sports and races were.many and the competitors. were innumerable. In some classes the wide racing field was congested, in other events aS many aS eight heats of twelve competitors each had to be run. Children from every ‘school in the city vied . with one another, and hundreds of prizes were won. The sports. alone would have ensured the success of the picnic. Hivery now and then there was 2 mixing-up of the children.. Like the Pied Piper, an official, throwing handfuls of lollies from a large tin, would go round the ground followed by an ever-increasing swarm of children who left the various side shows' to try their luck in the scramble for sweets. The skittle alley was in much demand, and the balloon-hitting competition produced a vigorous ~ bombardment until ammunition failed. As a consequence, quite a number of boys now ‘have tennis balls as souvenirs of the Radio picnic. White rats, black ‘Pomeranians, brown Pomeranians, Angora rabbits, kittens and cats, a puppy Alsatian, dogs of all kinds, even four. wide-eyed young frogs seeing the world from a floating piece of wood inside a pre-

serving jar, were among the pets brought by children to the picnic. The parade and judging took place on a raised platform. The pets had never met before, so it was a memorable day for them,: particularly for one white rabbit which was chased by a dog and was rescued with difficulty. It was an unrehearsed incident which provided much diversion, During the afternoon, S3YA’S announcer, Mr. A. L. Curry, broadcast’ fromthe ground a description of the proceedings, and listeners-in realised that it was one of the happiest outings of the year. In the background of the announcer’s description they heard the New Brightoh Band playing lively musie, the whistle of the miniature engine and the laughing and .shrieking of the children. Then, as the parade of pets was-on at that moment, the young owners were engaged in conversation before the microphone, and some diverting entertainment was provided. "Aunt Pat’ also joined in a dialogue. The result of this broadcast was to increase considerably the number of people at the picnic. One of the attractions during the afternoon was dancing by junior pupils of the Scottish Society. A great many people attended the picnic for the purpose of seeing the popular "aunts" and "uncles" heard over the air from 8YA. This they had the opportunity of doing during the Children’s Session from 5 pm. to 6 p.m., which took place on the platform in front of the crowd. ~ It is safe to say that the Christchurch Radio Picnic given by the Radio Broadcasting Company will be a red-letter day to all who were present at the Trotting Grounds at Addington last Saturday afternoon,