A good time was had by all at what turned out to be an incident-packed South Otago Young Farmers Club ball in Clinton on Saturday, organisers say.
The event, in the main hall of the Clinton Community Centre, was interrupted by a power cut and a fire evacuation, topped off by the toilets failing to flush.
The problems began at 6.53pm, when a truck damaged a pole on State Highway 1 outside the Clinton toilets, not long before the ball was due to start.
Organisers found four backup generators and lights for the hall, Young Farmers Club committee chairman Ryan Ward said.
More than 300 people danced in semi-darkness until the generator-run smoke machines set off the fire alarms, prompting an evacuation of the hall.
"A big thank you to the Clinton Volunteer Fire Service, who turned out and quickly resolved the issue," Mr Ward said.
The power outage also meant the toilets were not flushing.
Powernet system control manager Kana Shanmuganathan said the broken power pole was a main support structure and had to replaced.
About 395 customers in an area covering Slopedown, Wairuna and Waipahi were affected before the power was reconnected at 11.42pm.
Aside from the problems, the night "went really well,' Mr Ward said.
"We had crisis after crisis, but everyone still had a good time."
