A hailstorm followed by a rain shower gave those taking part in the Clyde Gold Rush Grand Parade an icy taste of the conditions miners endured 150 years ago.
Fortunately, the nasty weather was confined to the lead-up to the event yesterday afternoon and the skies cleared and the sun came out just as the parade began.
"It was just amazing how it cleared in time," Promote Dunstan president Rory Butler said.
"I was pretty worried with 10 minutes to go when it was raining and hailing, and all the spectators were under shelter, but then the sun came out, like magic ... and so did the people."
A crowd estimated at more than 1000 people lined the main street of Clyde to watch, and several hundred people took part in the parade. The event was organised by a subcommittee of Promote Dunstan - the Dunstan Gold 150 committee, as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of gold being discovered in Central Otago.
"I was on the stagecoach and when we turned the corner into the main street and saw the crowd ... I was just absolutely delighted with how it went and it was a great thrill to see that level of support for an event in Clyde," Mr Butler said.
The New Zealand Army Band led the procession, which featured vintage cars and trucks, the Alexandra Pipe Band, people dressed in period costume, a coach pulled by a team of Clydesdales, a cavalcade of riders on horseback and several floats with a gold theme.
Mr Butler said the army band proved a real hit. Earlier in the day, band members had been given lunch by Promote Dunstan and asked to "sing for their supper" by blowing up several hundred gold-coloured balloons. "They did a good job too; they have the lungs for it".
Parade convener John Hanning, of Clyde, said he was nervous but it all fell into place.
"We weren't trying to compete with the Blossom Festival procession, for example, so it wasn't planned as a big event, but it went according to plan. There were even a few extras turned up, in costume, so that was helpful."
"The rain and hail made me a bit anxious but then it cleared, thankfully. And let's not forget that the miners experienced far worse than what we had, briefly, today. Plus they were out in that kind of weather, and worse, all the time."
