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Top entertainment to match wildfoods

A top entertainment line up will help wildfood gourmets work off steamed fish eyes, duck tongues and other wildfoods at this year's Hokitika Wildfoods Festival.

The 17th annual South Island festival will be held on 11 March 2006. Around 18,000 people are expected to descend on the small West Coast town to sample wildfood and beverages from 72 stalls.

The entertainment at the festival has grown to a wide-ranging mix of music from country to rock to sophisticated jazz.

'The entertainment could almost rival the wildfood as an attraction,' says festival organiser Mike Keenan.

'But the food providers have struck back with even more fantastic and previously unheard of delicacies than ever before.'

In the open spaces, patrons will be shaking their booty to the Sambada Brazilian Dancing Group, Nairobi Trio and New Zealand's iconic country stars, the Topp Twins to name just three of the 24 entertainers booked for the day.

It's not all huhu grubs, whitebait fritters and magpie pies. New foods this year include Posh Meets Bush - game salamis made from thar, venison, pork and chamois. Also new to the menu are deep fried eel spine, cicada and pistachio ice cream, ostrich swamp patties and meaty vegan gonads. Wash it down with some conservative beverages such as Monteith's summer ales, goat's milk, or freshly squeezed juices of berry, feijoa, orange, mango and spirulina.

Other features of the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival are:

• Free entertainment on Friday night 10 March in Weld Street including woodchopping performances

• The 'dance of two halves' on Saturday night - a rock 'n' roll marquee and a jazz marquee

• Wildfoods Festival craft markets along the river bank

To keep all that wild spirit under control, drinking is banned in public places except for the festival site. However downtown publicans will have their doors open to cater for patrons' drinking needs on their premises.

 

Further information:

Contact: Mike Keenan

Phone: +64 03 756 9049

Email: mike.keenan@westlanddc.govt.nz