Hastings Blossom Festival and Parade draws crowd of close to 10,000 on a corker Hawke’s Bay day

The colour and fun of the Blossom Parade fully on show. Photo / Paul Taylor Photography

The renaissance of the Blossom Parade continued on Saturday as the Hastings Blossom Festival drew a crowd of close to 10,000 people to the city centre on a stunning Hawke’s Bay day.

The event, which dates back to 1950, is a collaborative one organised by Arts Inc Heretaunga, Hastings District Council and Hastings City Business Association with support from charitable trusts and sponsors.

The theme of this year’s parade was “Regeneration: Spring Back Hastings”.

The parade remains the most popular part of the festival, but free entertainment zones in Blossom Alley (Heretaunga Street East between Warren St and Karamu Rd), Blossom Alley East (Heretaunga Street East between Warren Street and Hastings Street), Landmarks Square and CBD Mall and carnival rides in Albert Square also went down a treat with the crowd.

The carnival rides near Albert Square were enjoyed by children.

Chase from Paw Patrol made an appearance.

The go-karts fired up for the parade.

Nerida and Jett warm up the crowd with a performance.

The stilt walkers were a hit with punters.