Vintage Weekend needs helpers

The Conrays are an essential part of any Vintage Weekend. PICTURE / STEVE CAUDWELL

Vintage Weekend Trust members have been busy getting things ready for Wellington Anniversary Weekend when Whanganui embraces all things heritage.

Bruce Jellyman is Chairman of the Trust, and members are Kate Joblin, Annette Main, Rory Smith and Keith Smith.

"The whole of Vintage Weekend shapes up. There are some Friday night events, the Caboodle all Saturday, Sunday is the Riverside Shindig. Sunday is more of a picnic day with music and vintage things happening. Monday is the soapbox derby. Around that is a whole bunch of other stuff people are doing that aren't related specifically to the Vintage Trust. The Caboodle is run by Mainstreet under the auspices of the Trust and they do an incredible job. The Shindig is run by Annette, Rory and myself and the Soapbox Derby is run by Totalspan. The Vintage Trust ties a lot of it together and runs the PR machine for the whole weekend.

"It's a big weekend and it's only been going five years. In 2012 the international VCC Rally was here and that caused a series of little events to be dragged into one weekend, so all those people who were here had lots and lots to do.
"Every year there is a ton of stuff going on. It is the also the Vintage Car Club's annual rally so it links in well, with the car club providing a big part of the look of the weekend. They're always working at bringing interesting things here for the weekend. Last year they brought veteran cars here.

"[Next year's Vintage Weekend] will be similar to this year but there's always new stuff inside the package."

To make all this run smoothly, safely and efficiently, volunteers are needed to help out.
"We are really pushing for a volunteer group who can do assorted things," says Bruce. "When we say 'Vintage Weekend', people might think we want them to work all day Saturday or all day Sunday, and that's not the case. If you can do a couple of hours on Saturday or Sunday, that would be brilliant. What we do need are set-up crews and break-down crews. They just need to be able-bodied and able to follow instructions."

The only skill required is reliability. Having committed to serving as a volunteer, you are expected to turn up on time and do the job.

Set-up crews are needed on Saturday from 8-10am and Sunday from 9-11am. Break-down crews are required on Saturday from 5-6pm and 9-10pm, and on Sunday from 5-6pm.
Volunteers will also be needed to run an information stall on Saturday.
"That person will be able to phone me or Mainstreet. We need one or two people there all day but it could be on two-hour turnarounds."
People are required to keep an eye on the kids' zones, to ensure the safety of children, mostly..
"We need door people at things like the Vintage Fair, to supervise and make sure people are coming and going in an appropriate way.
"I need volunteers to do a survey of people - it's short interviews with visitors to find out where they're coming from."
Volunteers are also wanted to supervise the carpark, ticketing at the vintage bus rides, site supervision and othertasks.
"They're generally pretty easy tasks," says Bruce. "Sports clubs might want to put some people forward."

People interested in helping out can contact Bruce Jellyman by email - bruce.jellyman@gmail.com