An art teacher who entered Hastings’ inaugural Great Blossom Hat competition to set an example for her students took out the top prize, while one of her pupils won an age-group title.
Havelock North Intermediate teacher Jane Hawtin won the overall and 65-plus awards with Ode to our Orchardists. Her student Suhee Roh won the eight-to-12-year category with Blossoming Tree.
They were among 70 entrants in the competition, part of Saturday’s Hastings Blossom Festival, which drew around 25,000 people into the city centre, according to Hastings District Council.
Hawtin’s creation celebrated the people who helped establish Hawke’s Bay as a fruit-growing region, while carrying a personal tribute to her mother.
Inspired by the festival’s Great Things Grow Here theme, her hat brought together the landscape, sea, sky, sun’s rays and pollinating bees.
Hawtin told Hawke’s Bay News it acknowledged orchardists’ work through the “trials and tribulations” of the region’s history.
A bird on top honoured her mother, a Hawke’s Bay singer who Hawtin said had her own radio programme in the 1930s.
“So, it’s kind of like a hat that looks at history, acknowledging the past as we look to the future, with optimism.”
The hat was made using wet-felting, a process in which sheep’s wool is rubbed with hot, soapy water to tangle the fibres together.
“It’s not a material you buy. It’s something you make from literally fluffy sheep’s wool.”
Inside, an upside-down hanging basket provided a frame to help the oversized creation fit her head. Frost cloth also featured among the materials holding it together.
Hawtin made the hat at home after encouraging her students to enter.
“You have to set a good example for your students, so you get in and do it yourself as well, don’t you?”
She said providing creative opportunities alongside academic, sporting and cultural activities helped students discover and develop their talents.
“We enable them to develop their talents, which enables them to grow as people.”
Entrants showed their creations to judges Annah Stretton, Keryn Whitney and Nephi Tupaea.
“The entries were outstanding, with so much creativity, colour and imagination, and everyone interpreting ‘Great Things Grow Here’ in their own way,” Stretton said.
Returning to the festival also held personal significance for the judge.
“My family lived in Havelock North for much of my formative years and going to the festival was an annual ritual, so coming back all these years later to judge the inaugural hat competition felt like a wonderful full-circle moment.”
The competition was a new addition to a festival featuring 53 floats and walking displays in the Blossom Parade, alongside performances, carnival rides and family activities.
First-time entrant Idea Services won Best Float, with judges praising the energy and enthusiasm of an entry featuring wheelchairs, hats, costumes and vehicles covered in handmade blossoms.
Yummy Fruit Company, also entering for the first time, won Best Use of Blossom. Other winners included Falun Dafa Association of NZ for Best Performance, Bike Hawke’s Bay for Most Unusual and Cook Island Drummers for The Hits People’s Choice.
Arts Inc Hawke’s Bay director Jade Baker said the community response had been fantastic.
“We are thrilled with the turnout, and so grateful to the many groups and businesses who participated. The new parade route worked really well and it was awesome to see the thousands of people lining the streets in support.”
The Blossom Festival Special, operated by Mainline Steam Heritage Trust, brought 250 passengers into Hastings after travelling from Plimmerton.
Hastings Mayor Wendy Schollum said the day brought together different parts of the community and generated activity for local businesses.
“What I loved was seeing so many different parts of our community enjoying the day together. There were families, young people, older residents, community groups, performers, and businesses all adding something to the atmosphere.”
