Tairua Wine & Food Fest this weekend

Tairua Wine & Food Fest this weekend

Tairua in the Coromandel hosts its biggest event of the summer this Saturday January 10th when the annual Wine & Food Festival takes place at the school grounds on Main Road.

Gates open at 9am with music on the main stage from 10am – 4pm. Performers include the ever popular Captain Snappy Band and the fantastic Ben Merito who is stopping off in Tairua as part of his Homegrown Summer Tour. Ben is the son of New Zealand legend Gerry Merito and is forging out a successful recording career in Perth.

“Ben and his band have performed at some of New Zealand and Australia’s biggest festivals and have shared the bill with names like Shapeshifter, Tike Tane and Neil Finn so we are very excited that he is bringing his upbeat reggae sound to the Wine & Food Festival,” says co-ordinator Gillian O’Neill.

Building on the success of previous years, Saturday’s Festival will have a variety of bar tents featuring New Zealand wineries and breweries, and a diverse range of traditional kiwi and international cuisine.

“There will be loads happening on site throughout the day including some really cool prizes to be won,” says Gillian. “There’s a Mission Kayak up for grabs in the DiveZone Rugby Toss, and an overnight stay for four people at Lakes Resort Pauanui for the winner of the Hole-in-One Golf Challenge. So we expect to see lots of friendly competition happening in these action areas during the day.”

For families, the Kidzone will include vertical bungee, waterwalkers, bouncy castles, colouring competition, treasure hunt, facepainting and magic show. In addition to the big craft market, bargain hunters simply cannot miss the awesome items in the silent auction including some beautiful local art, a ladies pamper package and the ultimate fisherman’s gift pack.

“This is Tairua School’s main annual fundraiser and we are incredibly grateful for the support we receive from the wider Coromandel local and visiting community. Once again, all proceeds from this Saturday’s event will go directly towards programmes, resources and infrastructure to benefit our students. So we are looking forward to a great day and hope to see lots of people coming to enjoy our event.”

As part of their commitment to being responsible hosts, Festival organisers are encouraging patrons to be mindful of the new lower alcohol limits for drivers.

“For those who would like to enjoy a wine or a beer on the day, there will be a courtesy bus operating all day for a gold coin donation with stops at Manaia Road, Main Road and Paku Drive. The ferry will also be running to Pauanui so we would love to see as many people as possible availing of these services, especially when the festival finishes at 4pm.” says Gillian.

Admission to the Festival is $10 for an adult which includes a festival cup (ID required.) Under 18’s free. Visit www.tairuawineandfood.co.nz for more info.

ENDS

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