Hear ye, hear ye, the Central Otago World Town Crier Tournament is upon us. Well, almost upon us.
Held in conjunction with the Alexandra Blossom Festival in September, the event will draw town criers from all over the world, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and the United States.
It will be the first time the event has been hosted in New Zealand.
Central Otago town crier Paddy-Ann Pemberton, who is organising the event, said it was going to be ''huge''.
About 20 town criers from all over the world were planning to attend, and it was a good opportunity to show them ''how we do things here''.
The town criers would attend three competition ''cries'', in Alexandra, Roxburgh, and Cromwell, where they would be judged on their vocal proficiency, confidence and bearing, word content, and how well they managed to engage the audience.
They would also take part in a community concert in Roxburgh, visit schools and retirement villages, and tour Central Otago.
Criers wore the traditional regalia, including tricorn hats, cape coats, a jabot, waistcoat or vest, and a coat over the top.
Mrs Pemberton's preferred ''attention-gathering device'' was a bell, but other town criers had horns, pipes, and even a washboard.
She had attended nine world crier tournaments since becoming a crier 13 years ago and said she loved the role.
''We are ambassadors for our districts.''
People love tradition and when you have a town crier at an event it gives it a bit more ''pizazz'' and people really seem to enjoy it, she said.
Her sister inspired Mrs Pemberton to take up the role, starting in Gore and finally becoming Central Otago's crier.
And it was all positive because they only deliver ''good news'', she said.
In the old days, town criers had to deliver the ''good, the bad, and the ugly''.
