That’s the word from Midwinter Carnival event manager Jonathan Cweorth, who is very pleased with the community response, with a "pretty amazing" 6600 people turning out despite the "epically bad" weekend weather.
The event had been planned as a "lantern-lit fairyland" over two nights in the grounds of First Church, with two stages and a Carnival Village, but a dreadful weather forecast led to the decision to move activities inside First Church and Burns Hall.
"It was a huge effort for our amazing team of volunteers to completely rejig the event, including re-tissuing some of our historic lanterns so they could be part of the magnificent display inside the church."
A few lanterns had previously been re-covered with waterproof material, and had survived the wild weather outside, he said.
First Church hosted music, and other performances moved into Burns Hall, including a display by Brophy Aerials.
"It is a real credit to an exceptional effort made by all our volunteers and performers that the carnival was such a success," Mr Cweorth said.
While the planned community lantern parades could not go ahead, it was nice to see families bringing along their children — many carrying their lanterns — to experience the carnival. Every child who made a lantern was admitted free.
The flow of patrons was relatively smooth, apart from queues in the early evening on Saturday, when many Friday night ticket holders took the opportunity to take part.
"There were queues for a while, which we regret, but we also wanted to give people the chance to view the displays," Mr Cweorth said.
The First Church community had been very supportive and adaptable as the event changed, and were actively involved in performances, including bell ringing, organ performance, Cook Island and Samoan choirs, and a Cook Island welcome ceremony.
He had received a lot of positive feedback from people who had really enjoyed the new format of the event, and who were impressed with how well it adapted to the weather.
"The fact that we managed to get 6600 people in the conditions shows the community’s support, and gives the artists a boost."
The Dunedin Midwinter Carnival would look carefully at the event and hold an online feedback survey before making decisions on the format for next year’s event, Mr Cweorth said.
