Marton Harvest Festival gears up for return after 2020 cancellation

Steam engines are among the many activities and entertainment on show at the Marton Harvest Festival. Photo / Supplied

The town of Marton is gearing up for one of the biggest events on its calendar.

After being cancelled in 2020 due to the emergence of Covid-19 in New Zealand, the Marton Harvest Festival is all set to go ahead this year.

With more than 160 stalls, live music, displays, a scarecrow trail, home brew competition and more, there is something for the entire family to enjoy.

Event co-ordinator Jen Britton said the town was ready for the event after having it cancelled at the last minute in 2020.

"We're on the home straight now so we're getting more excited."

She said it had been a hard 12 months trying to plan the event and not worry about the possibility of another cancellation.

"The constant changing of alert levels causes a bit of anxiety just because you don't know what's going to happen and it can literally change overnight."

Jesse Mulligan will be the face of the day and chefs Tyson Burrows and Grant Kitchen will be going head to head in a cook-off.

"It's one of those rare events that caters for everybody."

The event has been moved from Marton Park to Sir James Wilson Park, an area with a bit more space.

In previous years up to 10,000 people have come through for the day.

"We've switched venues which has given us the ability to have a bit more space in a Covid environment," Britton said.

After securing 100 per cent funding from the Domestic Events Fund, the financial stress has been alleviated significantly, said Britton.

The fund, announced in last year's Government Budget, was established to support the events sector severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It just helps all around. It was really fun trying to keep all of those funds as close to home as possible.

"We're with businesses from within the district or are employed within the district. We just want to create that roll-on effect for the coming years."

Running in conjunction with the Harvest Festival is the Marton Rotary Pedal 4 Pleasure, a biking event raising money for local youth and wellbeing initiatives. More than 180 people took part in the 2019 event.

After a tough 12 months for the events sector, Britton is looking forward to getting all the festivities under way.

"I am. Personally, it has been a bit more chaotic than normal. We're pushing a shop local campaign here in the Rangitikei, so that is going to be quite prominent throughout.

"We have stall holders from Auckland and south of Timaru. It should be a great day."