AMY RUSS
Hitting the aerodrome this October, AgFest West Coast 2022 is set to be a boomer weekend with over 400 trade and food stalls, competitions, entertainment and all things agricultural to entertain its attendees.
In its sixth successful year, organisers hope this bi-annual event, to be held at the Greymouth Aerodrome on October 14 and 15, will be the biggest yet.
After cancellations and postponements hampered the summer line-up, organisers are excited to finally showcase the big event. “Come along to AgFest West Coast and you’ll experience every inch of farming in New Zealand from the latest in dairy sheds to the best gumboots to wear in them. You’ll see the latest in farming vehicles and implements, stock care, health and safety, and much more.
AgFest West Coast promises that this is an event that will hold hours of interest for every person in your family regardless of whether you directly work in the rural sector or not.” Co-director, Anna Marie Thompson says the team have been preparing for the better part of a year and they are keen to get things underway.
“It has been many months of hard yakka and pretty full on. We were initially going to host AgFest in April, but covid has really disrupted things. We pushed the event to October to work in with the farming calendar, so we opted for between the end of calving and the start of mating season! Yes, covid has been disruptive but we are not going to let it get in our way!”
The team behind AgFest West Coast work tirelessly along with staff and contractors to bring the event to the region and get huge enjoyment in building and presenting the experience. Recognising the importance of the agricultural sector on the West Coast, they say it is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the very best of what the rural sector has to offer and to celebrate the agricultural industry and its significance to all businesses on and around the Coast.
The uniqueness of AgFest lies in the fact that it has grown to be the largest single event on the West Coast and that there is something for everyone at the venue.
“AgFest is a great family day out for the whole wider community. Our exhibitors come from all over the country. We have a fair ground, food stalls, a creative gumboot competition, entertainment from New Zealand’s leading country rock artist Cam Scott, an AgChef ‘cook-off’, and a host of other activities planned. And Philip Duncan, head weather analyst and owner of Weather Watch and Jamie Mackay from Newstalk ZB’s Country Show will both be in attendance.”
Organised by a core group of four, husband and wife team Andy and Anna Marie Thompson and Tracey Anderson and Adam Berry, the idea was born when the team were approached by local agriculture firms to put together a collaborative ‘field day’ for the West Coast.
Originating in Hokitika in 2011, numbers soon outgrew the venue and Grey District Council offered the use of Greymouth Aerodrome as its new home. “When we initially started promoting the first event back in 2011 we were hoping for around 40 exhibitors, but before we even had a decision meeting we already had 80 exhibitors booked. It just grew from there.”
Seeing exponential growth within the first three years, the team were excited to host AgFest in Greymouth for the first time.
“However, 2018 was a mud-fest. We had a torrential rainstorm and people were needing to get towed out. It was clear that something had to change for us to continue to use that venue in the future. We worked with the local council and they invested $200,000 in infrastructure starting with setting up permanent gravel roadways. This has happened, and the event site is now an all-weather ground.”
The rest, as Andy says, is history. The organisers understand what it takes to put together a bit of magic boasting that their first year saw a couple from their Bachelor/Bachelorette competitions held at one of the original AgFest events, successfully go on and have children.
Set to sizzle in 2022, the popular AgChef West Coast competition, one of the shows highlight events, starts with pre-registered competitors bringing their home-made dishes to Grey High for judging. The top ten dishes will go through to the second round in the form of a live ‘cook-off’ on October 8, at 10am. Finalists will then head to the main stage at AgFest on Saturday October 15, to produce a dish of their choice from a mystery box of ingredients.
Winners take home $2000 worth of prizes and the bragging rights for Top Chef of the event. The Creative Gumboot competition has some amazing prizes up for grabs in each category and is open to entrants aged pre-school through to adult. An after function in the style of Friday Night drinks will show out-of-town exhibitors what true West Coast hospitality is.
“This is part of who we are. You come to AgFest and we will look after you!”
Having a strong community presence is a personal highlight for the team as a whole. “Hosting the event here on the coast means a lot for the region. The majority of our exhibitors come from away, which in turn boosts the local economy. We get a lot of Cantabrians and Nelsonians coming over for the day or the weekend, catching up with family and spending time in the region. The community also gets involved in so many different ways, for example, the local Karate Club is doing security, and for some organisations being part of the event can be their single biggest fundraiser for the year.“
As well as having one of the largest displays of agri-businesses and technologies there will be a host of other activities for those attending to get involved in at the 2022 AgFest West Coast.
Event goers, both rural and urban, are going to be wowed by what they see. The new and improved all weather ground with gravel lane ways will promise to make both exhibitors and event-goers time spent at the event more enjoyable. The Park and Ride service makes getting around a breeze, there will be food sites to tempt every palette, and along the way there is a huge community involvement with many local groups and charities benefiting.
“If you’re a farmer, a lifestyler, or you already know what a legendary couple of days out this event is, be sure to head over to the Coast for what is promised to be the best ever AgFest. There are some great features this year you won’t want to miss!”
Hoping to beat the 20,000 turnout from the last event, organisers encourage people to secure their tickets via the website or contact the team to secure an exhibitors site.
“If you haven’t booked your site and confirmed your spot at Agfest yet, now is the time! Sites are filling up fast, but we will do our best to accommodate you. We still have a limited number of Sponsorships available if you would like more visibility for your business at the event. These range from Street names, to gold, silver and bronze options.” Call Andy on 0274 323 611 or Tracey on 0275 223 111 to discuss this further, or email westcoastagfest@gmail.com.’
“We would love to see as many of our out-of-town friends come on down and enjoy the event. You will not be disappointed!”
Admission to AgFest is just $10, primary school children $5, and under 5s are free.
www.agfest.co.nz
