In
1983 a small group of enthusiasts met at each other's houses. In 1986 the South Australian Miniature Enthusiasts club was started and held their first Festival at the St
Peter's Town Hall where it was also held for the next 8 years.
In their 9th year larger premises were
required and the Festival moved to the Latvian Hall at Wayville which was
to host the Festival for the next 4 years.
The 14th Festival was held in
conjunction with the national convention, and once again required larger
premises. This Festival was held at the Norwood Town Hall with the
formal exhibition occupying a large meeting hall, and the ever-popular
traders being in the Norwood Concert Hall area on the first floor.
Workshops were also held as part of the convention and these were
conducted in various meeting rooms on the first floor and also another
building owned by the council a short distance away. Visitors for
the convention came from the local area, interstate and also the USA and
New Zealand.
The Norwood Town Hall was the venue
for the 15th Festival and is also the venue for the 16th Festival to be
held on Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th of August 2001.
For the last few years one of the
major attractions has been the raffles which are held during the Festival,
and also the major raffle of a large dollhouse which starts early in the
year and is drawn at the close of the Festival. The other raffles
held during the Festival
are hourly raffles of room boxes which have been decorated by members of
the club.
In addition to the exhibits submitted
by individual members, each year there are one or two "club"
exhibits where members may submit an exhibit which is in keeping
with the theme. Some of the themes which have been explored in the
past have been:
A Victorian
Fair
Apartments
John Martins'
Christmas Pageant
That's
Entertainment
Seaside -
Past and Present
Merry
Christmas
A Shopping
Mall
Story Land
The theme for this year's Festival is "Backyards and Gardens" and also
"Unusual Containers".
Click here to view the flyer and feel free to print and
distribute them amongst your friends, work colleagues, clubs, wherever.
The club meets on the second Wednesday of each month at
St Matthew's Hall, corner of Bridge Street and Kensington Road at
Marryatville. The meeting begins at 7:30pm and is followed by
tea and coffee and a workshop or two or three or four where one of the members shares their skill
and knowledge with others in making and creating all things miniature. The
"instructor" usually supplies the kits for sale unless it is specifically
stated in the schedule of workshops that you may be required to bring along
certain items.
If you require further information on the Festival or
would like to join the SAME club, you can contact the following people who can
assist you. Verna
Cannon is the Festival Coordinator and Sylvia
Martin is the Trade Coordinator for the Festival and is also one of the
founding members of the club.
Click here to see some of the past exhibits submitted by
members for the Festivals.
Proceeds from the
Festival are donated to Children's charities and to date have reached almost
$100,000.
This year "St
Theodore's Cathedral", an intricate work of scroll-sawing by Mr Theo Kampes
will be featured during the Festival.
