Final Tickets Selling Fast for Wildfoods Festival

1 March 2012

Final Tickets Selling Fast for Wildfoods Festival

With just over a week to go, tickets to one of New Zealand’s more unique food festivals have been “running out the door”.

Now in its 23rd year, the Wildfoods Festival will be held in Hokitika on Saturday, 10 March, and will be opened by Hon Gerry Brownlee. Event organiser Mike Keenan says there has been a last minute rush as people realise how quickly the event is approaching.

“Sales have been steady over the Christmas and summer holiday period, but we have seen ticket sales ramp up considerably over the last couple of days. We had a lot of early sales from across the ditch and throughout the South Island, and have seen the sales trending more local as the date fast approaches. It’s always great to see the huge following, loyalty and support the event engenders.”

The festival attracts thousands of visitors each year from throughout the country and overseas, as well as significant national and international media interest, and has been listed as one of 300 Unmissable Festivals and Events Around the World by international travel writers, Frommers.

With over 50 stalls covering an array of wild foods – from gourmet venison, lamb shanks, and wild pork, to chocolate-coated huhu grubs, kangaroo bites and cricket satay – Mr Keenan says there is something for everyone. “We’ve had such a great response from stallholders this year, with the biggest range ever. The menu selection is so diverse: we have your typical ‘wild foods’, such as gamey meats, fresh local seafood and of course West Coast whitebait, but we also have foods that people may not have tried, such as marinated tuna, kava, baby octopus, whalebait, rare tastings of pukeko and paradise duck, rillettes and churros – even vegetarian dishes – it’s a degustation lunch with a difference.”

As well as the lure of wild foods – and drinks – the festival offers entertainment throughout the day on the main stage, with an assortment of music types and characters, and a series of chef demonstrations by renowned celebrity chef Charles Royal. In addition, the festival will host its very first wedding, with the groom- and bride-to-be regular attendees at the event. Festival-goers are encouraged to dress up, with a $1000 Best Dressed prize, which adds to the festival atmosphere.

A lot of preparation goes into the community-run event, with a large number of the 3,100 locals pitching in to help. The first marquee will be set up on Monday, leaving the organisers just five days to set up an event that attracts over 15,000 visitors to the West Coast town. “It takes about 800 people in total, both beforehand and on the day to ensure the festival is enjoyed by everyone,” say Mr Keenan.

“The majority of those people volunteer their time to help raise funds for a local charity or organisation, such as the Lions Club, golf club, schools and fire brigade, so it provides significant economic benefit for the community. It is also a key economic driver for local businesses and the wider Westland region, showcasing some of New Zealand’s most stunning natural scenery, and the warmth and hospitality of Coasters.”

Tickets to the festival are still available, priced at $36 from www.ticketdirect.co.nz.

www.wildfoods.co.nz

ENDS

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