"The idea came out of our beer festival, which started turning into a music festival so we had to draw a line between the two."
She said her unique venue was the product of what she had seen overseas.
"There were lots of small beer gardens out of the main cities that were comfortable and fun.
"Our festival is up close and personal with a maximum of 400 people. They can chat to the performers and get a personal experience.
"For people my age, who are looking to re-live their youth and feel young again, it's a comfortable place with no overcrowding.
"But, there is a fine balance to get the vibe right," she said.
Sarah is full of praise for Michael, who she says is hugely supportive of young local acts looking to get some exposure.
"He's at that age where he wants to give back, I guess it's our turn to give something back to the community."
Sarah says the festival will continue as long as people want to go.
"We had some really good feedback from last year, it's really stressful putting on events like this, but people have been asking about when we would put it on again."
She said the target audience was a middle-aged person who loved a good beer or wine in a friendly, comfortable environment.
"You can still hear yourself talk," she said.
The other half of the festival team is Michael Barker, whose musical pedigree cannot be questioned. He was also instrumental in bringing big names like Tim Finn to last year's festival.
"We made a point of including local artists trying to make a go of it and some high profile names to help draw a crowd," he said.
"This is so we can make it a real community event held in a unique location. It's strung together by a couple of people and a lot of enthusiasm.
"It's small, intimate and really personal. We set up on a stage made of kiwifruit boxes."
Michael said the venue was developing a name for itself among touring musicians.
"A lot of this has been word of mouth with musicians contacting me or the store about how they can put on a show out there. They want to play there, it has a really nice ambience.
"What's cool about the store is that people want to be there."
But, what is always a concern for promoters of smaller festivals is the ticket price.
"I know a lot of our artists on a reasonably personal level and my association with the music industry is the key to that.
"They are not coming for the money, but for the whole experience.
"I basically asked them to bring their families down to this unique location, Bic is going to do that and Tim Finn did it last year. That's really how we pitch it to the artists," he said. "As a performer, I think we all get a real kick out of it, the bigger the gig the less personal it becomes."
Not only do the big acts get a great weekend away, but the younger performers get to meet established artists in an intimate and real environment.
"They are not shipped off and separated back stage, this is a grass roots community event.
"I think it's really important for artists to experience and connect with each other."
He said mentoring young talent was part of that philosophy.
"It's quite informal, but I'd like to see if we can establish a culture of learning between artists," Michael said.
The OFF will be held at the Okere Falls Store on Auckland Anniversary Weekend - Saturday and Sunday January 25 and 26. A shuttle bus will run between the venue and the city.
See line-up here
