Kapiti Coast, Wellington, New Zealand Monday 15th December 2021: It is with great sadness and disappointment that the Kāpiti Food Fair is announcing to its foodie community, near and far, that they have come to the decision to postpone this year’s event until December 3rd, 2022.

“This is not a decision we came to lightly,” said Helene Judge, Co-owner. Both Jeanine and I feel this is clearly the right decision because of so much uncertainty, increasing case numbers, and no firm understanding of how the vaccine certificate is going to operate. "We cannot ask our own people, risk our reputation as a major event in Kāpiti and the Wellington Region, and risk the health of vendors and visitors by continuing in 2021.”

On Friday November 12, the team behind the annual event found themselves juggling an increasing amount of concerning information including the announcement of 203 new Covid cases including six related cases in Stratford and wastewater detection in Taupo. Sunday’s announcement of 207 cases, including two cases in Tararua and the Wairarapa being on high alert with places of interest due to one of the Stratford cases having travelled there, also added to their consideration.

Another part of this decision comes from the Government announcing the Events Transition Support Payment (ETSP) that will take effect from 17 Dec 2021 through to 3 Apr 2022. This was not and is not helpful for support in the case of the Kāpiti Food Fair, as their dates do not meet the delivery timeframe of the Fair meaning they are not eligible to apply.

“This news has only added to our increasing disappointment as we came to our own conclusions on the need to reschedule quickly so everyone associated with the Fair had time to rearrange their affairs,” said Helene. “We believe the ETSP is fundamentally unfair and will hurt local communities economically and socially, particularly when we were eligible, and received $25K from the Domestic Events Fund that was set-up in response to Covid in 2020,” added Helene.

“We feel we’ve done our best to navigate a very uncertain and unclear path that we have in front of us,” shared Jeanine van Kradenberg, co-owner of the Fair. “We want to acknowledge the mahi and understanding of everyone involved with the Fair whether as a vendor, volunteer, part of the crew, an entertainer, a sponsor or a visitor and to thank you all for being part of our Covid journey to this point. We will get through this and be back in 2022.”

About:

Kāpiti Food Fair was established in 2008 as a community event with humble beginnings. It is now privately owned and operated in a business partnership between Helene Judge and Jeanine van Kradenburg. The vision of the Fair is about making a lasting impression in the minds and bodies of all foodies. Their mission is to bring visitors into Kāpiti to experience ‘our place’ while having a fun, tasty day out with GOOD friends, GOOD times and GOOD food!

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