18,500 through Greymouth Ag Fest

The main lanes of Ag Fest were crammed with browsers at the weekend. Photo / Laura Mills

Stunning weather, bargains, and a huge array of goods from businesses as far away as the North Island greeted an estimated 18,500 who thronged Ag Fest on Friday and Saturday.

Tracey Anderson, for the organisers, said both days had been “phenomenal”.

“The stories we are hearing about the business that was done are just blowing us away.

“The vibe was amazing — people were loving it, the weather could not have been any better.”

The 400 or so site-holders “lifted the bar” with their displays and the pavilions all looked great.

The growth of the ‘Big Boys Toys’ site since its 2018 debut had been huge, she said.

“Newcomers to the show who did not know what to expect and thought it would be small were blown away by the response.”

Terra-Cat brand and events manager Richard Clark said it had been good to engage with West Coast people interested in the company’s heavy machinery.

He said numbers at Greymouth seemed down on the previous 2020 show when the Christchurch A and P Show had not been held.

“There did not seem to be as many people from Canterbury, but we had good engagement and will see where the inquiry and leads go,” Clark said. Dwayne Mead and Bobbie Kinkaid, of Donuts Hokitika, sold 7800 of the sweetened dough cakes over the two days.

“We knew it would be fairly good, but it was spectacular,” Mead said.

“We had a solid queue of five hours on the Saturday — then it died down and we thought ‘good’. But it built up a few minutes later. We wanted to die on the floor!”

It was the second Ag Fest the couple had taken their business to, and they recognised the mornings would always be quiet.

“We have to teach people to have donuts for breakfast,” he quipped.

“But seeing the smile on the kids’ faces is awesome.”

Debbie Russ, co-owner of Blackball Salami, said it was a great event and the team had been kept extremely busy. “We took the amount of stock we usually take to a food show and had to stock up the next day — then get more in. People came from everywhere, it was good.”

The company had attended every Ag Fest since its start in Hokitika and its brand was a drawcard for their pavilion.

“Also I think when people go to something like Ag Fest they want to spend money.

“We ran out of half-salamis by midafternoon Saturday — people had to buy whole salamis.”

Development West Coast marketing and communications manager Aaron Rees said Ag Fest was an important event, not just for Greymouth but the whole region.

“It injects a lot of money into our economy, brings a lot of visitors to the region and helps showcase our amazing West Coast businesses. DWC is really proud to support the event and congratulations to the team behind Ag Fest for pulling off another amazing event.”

-Greymouth Star