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“it” Bay of Islands Festival Success. Press Release by by Peter de Graaf - Northern Advocate 25 Oct
More than 1000 people crowded into Paihia’s Village Green for a chance to relive the music of the 1970s and feast on some of Northland’s best food and wine in blazing sunshine.
The inaugural “it” Bay of Islands Festival was organised as a practice run for next year’s Rugby World Cup celebrations, Business Paihia chair Sarah Greener said. While the food and wine festival would become an annual event, Saturday’s trial run was a chance to ``see what worked and what didn’t’’ as the town geared up for six weeks of festivities in 2011. The other aim was to persuade people to spend a weekend in the Bay during the shoulder season. ``It’s good to get a few more people up here and showcase the Bay of Islands.’’ Ms Greener said about 1300 adults had turned out, plus many more kids than expected.
For a first attempt she was pleased with the numbers, which were just enough to cover costs - the biggest of which was flying headline act Dragon over from Australia. It was a gamble that seemed to pay off, with many of those at festival citing the chance to see the 1970s Kiwi music icons as the main drawcard. Singer Mark Williams gave the nostalgia-hungry crowd what it wanted, saving their biggest hits April Sun in Cuba and Are You Old Enough? to the very end. It was apparently also a nostalgic day for the Dargaville-born musician, who told the crowd his first public performance as a 16-year-old in a school band was in Paihia.
The other big attraction was food and drink, with dozens of stalls offering mostly Northland treats. Aucklanders Mandy Ligget and Tracy Gibson - who came equipped with a bright pink ``Barbie blanket’’, said they couldn’t have asked for better Labour weekend weather. ``And the fudge is amazing,’’ Ms Gibson added.
Aucklander Paul Schoch came for atmosphere and seafood, but cleaned up in the pie-eating contest instead. The 40-year-old admitted to some training at his favourite pie shop in Papakura, but the result came ``right down to the wire’’.
Ms Greener said the event would be back next year in the same format, a two-day fishing tournament leading into a food and wine festival. “it” had been organised by Blah Blah Marketing with help from community groups including Paihia Fire Brigade, St John Ambulance, Kerikeri army cadet unit and Maori wardens. Fish landed during the tournament were auctioned after weigh-in, raising about $2000 for the fire brigade and St John. Volunteers from the two organisations filleted and cooked the fish on the spot. Firefighter/chef Hughie Blues said catches included an 18-pound snapper and some big kingfish.
