All carnivalled out
Well, that was one hell of a party. There was even a bit of politics after all, after it was announced that Falun Dafa had been banned from the parade, and in the end they turned up anyway. There were even some rare and wondrous apparitions during the parade: actual buses!
As for transgression of political, ideological and legal authority, it's clear that no-one really cared about the liquor ban (though one policeman politely turned down offers of a swig of cheap Riesling from one bystander), and in some cases public decency laws also went literally out the window - if you were anywhere near the Floriditas balcony just before the parade you'll know what I'm talking about. Look love, this isn't Mardi Gras, you don't get any beads for doing that here.
There are no photos of that incident up on Flickr, though it's presumably just a matter of time. Meanwhile, there are plenty of photos tagged cubastreetcarnival or cubastcarnival (don't you just love folksonomies?) to enjoy, and here are some of my own photos from they daylight hours.
Ferris wheel at Te Aro park.
Ukelele Orchestra fans looking for a good viewing position.
posted by Tom @ 10:06 pm
9 Comments:
The Real Hot Bitches 'Shot Through The Heart' en masse dance routine may just be the most wonderful thing I've ever seen. I so should have learned the moves and participated.
Quick plug - lots of pics of people enjoying the carnival here...
http://texture.co.nz/photos/cuba_street_carnival_saturday_24_february/picture1225.aspx
and here...
http://texture.co.nz/photos/cuba_st_carnival_outdoor_film_fiesta_-_swan_lane_friday_23_february/picture1176.aspx
The $1 for any number of zones on the bus was a neat idea that came as a surprise. Almost made me feel like I was living in a modern city. Presumably this was a smart idea intended to reduce traffic, which worked surprisingly well (that and clearly people were smart enough to keep driving through the city to a minimum).
Gemma's links are here and here, in case they're hard to follow from the comment.
Anon: yes, I wish they could make the $1 fare permanent! And there didn't seem to be too much traffic chaos, even though Ghuznee St was closed an it's still SH1 for at least another month.
Strictly speaking, exposure of breasts isn't a violation of decency laws; it's only ever "disorderly conduct" at the most, and it can even be protected speech in many cases. Indecent exposure and its friends deal with the exposure of genitals only.
I think the $1 bus fares were also a bit of Stagecoach sucking up - it didn't apply to any of the non-Stagecoach buses, which makes me suspect Stagecoach was eating the loss rather than the council.
Thanks Tom - didn't check those once I'd posted - oops.
And I agree that the $1 fare was fab (and a child could travel for free with every fare-paying adult!). With Go Wellington/Stagecoach being the main sponsor I didn't think it strange that it was limited to just their buses; 'twas just a happy concurrence that the corporate sponsor leverage of the event happened to also help the necessarry council road closures.
Would be interesting to know how many people took advantage of the $1 fare, and if it meant that people who maybe wouldn't have bothered actually did make the effort to come into town.
Would be excellent if bus fares could be subsidised just on Saturdays or Sundays to bring more Wellingtonians into the city on weekends. Agree?
Anon: thanks for clearing up the legal niceties. I think it could be counted as a transgression of the usual social norms, at least. And I presume by your comment that you were there!
Gemma: "Would be excellent if bus fares could be subsidised just on Saturdays or Sundays to bring more Wellingtonians into the city on weekends. Agree?" Absolutely! Much better than free parking. Though I imagine a lot of people who regularly commute via bus during the week already have a monthly card, thus making weekend travel free already. And making the city circular bus free (rather than twice the price of a normal city-section fare - what's that about?) would help, too.
Oh, and more photos of the carnival here. Note in particular all the people shocked and disturbed by "disorerly conduct".
the incident ;)
http://flickr.com/photos/chillu/403251643/
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