The gnomes are returning to Collingwood
Gnomes really know how to have fun: Planking in Collingwood. Photo: Supplied.
Gnomes from all over will gather for Golden Bay’s Fifth annual Gnome Away From Home Festival at the end of August.
The festival is based in Collingwood but it is starting to branch out. Gnome-related activities are highly likely in other parts of Golden Bay during this year’s festival.
Organiser Paddy Gillooly says that the gnome festival was always intended to be a Bay-wide event in time, so he is delighted that Anatoki Salmon is offering a gift to any gnome who takes a friend salmon fishing over the weekend of 26-28 August.
“All the events that people have come to expect will be a part of the festival again this year. The gnome quiz in the Collingwood Tavern, the gnome sports in Tasman Street on the Saturday and the half-price Farewell Spit trips are all on again. To offer a bit more flexibility, the spit trips - for gnomes accompanied by people - will operate...
on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings this year.
That means people can do a trip and participate in the events as well. The crowd is building year by year. We’ve already got some people booked from Auckland and we expect plenty of people will come from the other side of the mountain as well. Last year a carload came from Christchurch, too.”
The full programme for the festival will be published in next week’s The GB Weekly.
One highlight, the 3.8km gnome run/walk on Saturday morning, always attracts plenty of interest. Paddy says the organisers are looking forward to seeing locals Steve Garrett and Graham Williams renew their rivalry.
“They’ve won one each in the last two years.”
The festival offers entertainment and fun for locals and visitors at what is traditionally a quiet time of the year for many Golden Bay businesses. Members of the Golden Bay Promotions Association have put together a great prize for the monster raffle that will run before, during and after the events.
“I’m absolutely stoked with the support we’ve received from local businesses. We’re aiming to raise $5000 for the Summit rescue helicopter. The raffle will cost $10 and it has only one prize – a $3000 package of accommodation, dining, activities, art and jewellery from Golden Bay. We’re only having 500 tickets and we think they’ll sell well – here and over the Hill, especially. It’s a great prize – if a Nelson person won it they could have about three weekends over here for absolutely nothing. The raffle and the whole Gnome Away From Gnome festival are very good promotions for Bay businesses.”
Neil Wilson
