That was the spirit Techesmakers Resort co-owners Vincent Teoh and Renee Chong wanted to recapture during Oamaru’s annual heritage celebrations.
Those who ventured out to the resort could take a tour of the grounds, but were also invited to take part in a painting competition.
Joining in the festival for the first time since moving into Teshesmakers Mr Teoh said painting used to be a pastime, as there was no television to turn on every night.
The competition was a way to revive the spirit of painting for enjoyment, he said.
While the definition of "painting" was stretched to include a few other media, there was one hard rule — you had to paint something at Teschemakers.
For Fiona Kappely, that something was a vase of flowers.
She admitted using watercolour pencils was cheating a little bit, but it was still in the spirit of the competition.
She always looked forward to the heritage celebrations.
The history behind it was nice, but one element attracted her the most: "Really I just like dressing up".
She had a busy schedule planned out with her friends and family, including a game of croquet followed by the Victorian Garden Party at the Oamaru Public Gardens, which was unfortunately cancelled as a result of heavy rain.
But that didn’t dampen her spirits in watching the parade or keeping an eye out for familiar faces. To end the weekend, she planned on attending the Victorian Fete.
Ms Chong was wearing a crimson dress complete with brooch to give tours of the heritage site, while Mr Teoh had donned a fine top hat and bow tie.
She said it was their first time being in Waitaki for the celebrations and they were excited to be a part of it.
The Oamaru Heritage Celebrations ended last Sunday evening.
