Hundreds gather for Turakina Highland Games

The Turakina Highland Games was a roaring success.

The 156th edition of the event drew in hundreds from all over New Zealand for what was a "beautiful" day in Turakina on Saturday.

Secretary Kat Begg was really pleased with how the day went.

"Really great atmosphere, really lovely family-orientated day," she said.

More than 800 people attended the Games, which featured field events, dancing and pipe band competitions.

Traditional field events included the caber toss, farmers walk, tug of war, sheaf toss, "carry the Stones" and shot put.

Judges came from far and wide for the day, with a number from Invercargill and one even crossing the Tasman.

"We even had one come from Australia which added some international flair," Begg said.

Over 100 dancers competed in the two dancing categories, the SOB Board (Scottish Official Board) and the P&D Highland Dancing.

Sixteen stalls were set up with the day, with everything from food trucks to pottery stalls.

Seventy solo pipers and 15 drummers competed, with age group and adult categories.

Begg said the day was festive from the start.

"I got there at 7am and everyone was setting up," she said.

Many people ended up staying longer than anticipated.

"We had people that were only going to come for an hour and stayed for five or six hours."

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This was Begg's first event as secretary but the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

"Prior to that my grandfather and great grandfather were secretaries so it's been part of it for a while."

Begg has been attending the games since she was a child and said the event has gone from strength to strength.

"I remember as a child instead of having instead of having a barbecue and Ceilidh on the ground everyone use to go back to my grandparents' place and there would be a massive party."

Many people camped for the games, with two different areas.

"There was a noisy area and a quiet area where family usually goes to.

"The noisy area was allocated because we have a barbeque, a Ceilidh and a band playing."

Begg said the energy was festive.

"I left at about 10pm and everything was in full swing. People were up dancing and whooping."

Begg noted that she recognised many people, even though this was the first event she had attended in 20 years.

"The good thing as an adult that the people I knew as a child are still coming and still supporting and still making sure there grandchildren are attending and know all about it, so its a proper family tradition.

"There was no trouble, just a really lovely day."