It was a day out fit for a King and Queen.
New ground was broken on Saturday during the 67th annual Blossom Festival when, for the first time, joint winners Nate Alexander, 17, and Lily Kain, 16, were crowned Blossom Festival King and Queen.
It was the first time in the event’s history there had been a king crowned.
Nate said he was overwhelmed with emotions after becoming Festival King.
"It’s been such an amazing opportunity ... I think I’ll remember it for the rest of my life."
He hoped his win would encourage more young men to get involved in the competition.
"I would love to see more princes — it’s just an amazing opportunity to give back to your community."
Lily said she had enjoyed the opportunity to meet new people the competition had given her.
"Really just get out of your comfort zone."
Earlier in the day, floats, florries, trucks, vintage cars and cultural groups paraded down Alexandra’s main street before attendees poured into Pioneer Park, where carnival rides, food, drink, market stalls and entertainment were on offer.
Event organiser Martin McPherson could only conjure the word "magic" to describe the event.
"The weather gods were kind, the audiences were huge, the entertainment’s been fantastic and we’ve seen some really good things happen."
The performance of the Dunstan Kāhui Ako kapa haka was incredible, he said.
It was made more special when two separate wāhine Māori stood to mihi [acknowledge] the mana of the performance with their own brief haka.
There had been an "amazing response" from the audience when Nate was crowned Festival King, he said.
"The festival has always been about inclusivity ... and we’ve broken a whole lot of ... [rules] and made some new ones."
"That’s why this event is 67 years young — it strives to be different, it strives to be new and it strives to be about families.
"We’ve succeeded."
An estimated 15,000 people were at Pioneer Park for the festival.
Festival-goer Adhelia Mudzamiri, of Alexandra, was enjoying her second Blossom Festival with her family.
She and her family arrived in New Zealand from Zimbabwe two years ago and were slightly confused at their first festival, she said.
This year, her family were in full swing, celebrating the Blossom Festival and her daughter walked in the parade — "now I am fan," she said.
"I feel like now we are part of the community ... We are now Kiwis."
Committee chairwoman Sharleen Stirling-Lindsay said the festival was a "community event", made possible because of volunteers who put in hundreds of hours of work.
"It means a lot that a lot of people come from out of town to celebrate this with us because we get to shine," she said.
"The locals that, year after year, have supported us — that just means the most."
