Golden Bay Cultural Food and Wine Festival
The organising committee enjoying the spectacular view at the festival site, from left, Nick Hodgkinson, Sharon McConnon, Colleen Byrne, Joan Forsyth, Terry Knight and Brian Harris. Photo: Neil Wilson.
It’s not allowed to rain on 24 January next year.
Organisers of the first Golden Bay Cultural Food and Wine Festival reckon that. Even this far out, everything looks really good for this inaugural showcase of local wine and cuisine.
“We just need a nice day,” said spokesperson Terry Knight, who had the idea for the festival.
The festival will be held at Bruce Richmond and Joan Forsyth’s Kowhatu Estates vineyard in upper Richmond Road, Pohara.
“There wouldn’t be a more spectacular venue for a festival anywhere in the country,” said Terry. “Bruce and Joan are grooming the site right now. It’s a stunning place and it gives us the best chance to showcase the Bay as a whole.”
The festival is aimed at locals and visitors. The organising committee intends to make it an annual event.
“We want to make people aware of the quality and variety of local products, wines cuisine, arts, crafts and fashion. How many people know for example that the Bay has five wineries? They’ll all be here, including the Mussel Inn and Bays Breweries with their beers. We’ve booked plenty of local musicians too, so the crowd will be brilliantly entertained.”
The organising committee is particularly pleased to have attracted media celebrity Te Radar back to the Bay to host the event.
“He was here recently filming a documentary and he loved it so much, he agreed to come back in January,” said Terry.
To minimise traffic to and from the festival site a bus service will operate from Collingwood, Takaka and Totaranui. A shuttle service will run between the site and the Pohara Hall, where there is parking.
The organising committee said that although 30 stalls and sites have been booked, there is room for a few more. Tickets are on sale now at Schnapp Dragon Village Distillery, Takaka Fresh Choice, the i-Sites in Takaka and Nelson, and the Nelson School of Music. Pre-purchased tickets are $16 a head and gate sales will be $20. People under 16 will be have free admittance.
“The Food and Wine Festival will promote tourism and commerce in the Bay,” said Terry. “When I’ve been talking about the idea to people – backers, stall-holders and ticket-buyers – the general opinion seems to be ‘it’s about time’.”
Neil Wilson
