Hokitika Wildfoods Festival – What is it and why do they have to limit ticket sales?

Dorothy - 31/03/06

Why do people flock to Hokitika on New Zealand’s West Coast for the Wildfoods Festival?
At first they went out of curiosity and perhaps because their friends dared them to go and try new foods even if the tempting prospect of whitebait fritters did not overcome antipathy to eating huhu grubs, smoked eel and possum pate which were not an appealing prospect. The first Festival in 1990 offered 28 stalls and attracted 1800 people who enjoyed the occasion so much that immediately there were around 1800 advertisers promoting it by word of mouth. For the 2006 Festival the tickets were limited to 18000 because the Festival’s popularity was creating a headache for the organisers. Innovative and exciting are key words for the range of food, the cooking styles, the entertainment, and the zany costumes, and friendly and exciting are key words for the whole occasion.

How did the Festival begin and whose idea was it?
The Festival began in 1990 when Hokitika was in celebratory mood after its 125th anniversary when the town celebrated by opening the quayside development. This was on the site of the old port, the main access point during the West Coast gold rush, a busy port despite the high number of shipwrecks caused by the treacherous approach. The quayside and the old Custom House were renovated to mark the anniversary, and a local woman called Claire Bryant suggested that as West Coast wild foods were already famous a Festival held on the quayside would be a unique way to promote the area to visitors. How right she was! This first Festival in 1990 won a West Coast Tourism Award of Excellence, and in 1993 it was taken over by the Westland District Council and sponsored by Westpower, ECNZ and the West Coast brewery Monteiths.

The Festival soon became too large for the Quayside site and is now held on Cass Square in Hokitika. The people of Hokitika – only about 4000 of them – and people from surrounding districts continue to host the huge one day Festival well known throughout the whole of New Zealand and beyond.

Local people’s involvement the key to Festival’s success
The full involvement of the West Coast people under the direction of Mike Keenan, Events Organiser for the Westland District Council, is vital to the success of the Festival as their unique menus and cooking methods, their local music and their renowned friendliness are what continue to attract the large crowds.

A relaxed atmosphere
Being at the Festival is like being at a party far from home and people let their hair down and enter into the fun. Some express the party spirit by wearing bright clothes or dressing alike in their groups.

A brightly dressed visitor eats a Festival pie Photo Source: Stewart Nimmo Photography. Click here to view a larger version

“The pink girls” have chosen to identify their group by dressing alike in distinctive outfits . Photo Source: Stewart Nimmo Photography. Click here to view a larger version

The menu
The foods at the first Festival were based on what the West Coast produces and included venison goulash, possum pate, vegetable kebabs, smoked eel and whitebait patties. To accompany old favourites like gorse flowers scones and billy tea, possum pate and ostrich pie, the 2006 Festival saw the launch of more than ten new “distasteful tastes”

Liquid refreshment
Three brews of the famous local brew Monteith's on offer saw 304 fifty litre kegs consumed.
Local Police spokesman, Senior Constable Darcy Lucas, said the new rules including the downtown liquor ban had a largely positive impact with few arrests relating to disorderly behaviour and drunken driving.

He said the Festival attracted a well behaved crowd and “seemed reminiscent of earlier years with the focus on food and fun. The only legacy really, is the range of lost property handed in adding to our mobile phone collection where we still have stuff unclaimed from four years ago.”

Fine weather
A sunny West Coast sky for the 2006 Festival helped keep everyone enjoying one new taste after another – like the deep fried fish eyes or the whiskey marinated duck's tongue.

A visitor tries a new taste – a duck tongue Photo Source: Stewart Nimmo Photography. Click here to view a larger version

Entertainment
A wide range of entertainment has always been a feature of the Festival. Over the years clowns, folk singers, buskers and many other types of entertainment have drawn good crowds, as have the cooking demonstrations. The bush dance is another typical West Coast entertainment very popular with the visitors.

The Kokatahi Band
A special feature each year, reminiscent of the days of the goldfields, has been the Kokatahi Band. This group was formed in 1910 and the members were men who as in the gold rush days had immigrated to the West Coast from all around the world, bringing with them a variety of musical traditions.

The Topp Twins and Nairobi Trio
The headline entertainers, the Topp Twins and Nairobi Trio, were star attractions in 2006.

Who benefits from the Festival?
Apart from the visitors who have a unique and enjoyable experience, according to organiser Mike Keenan, the overall economic benefit to the West Coast from the one day event is estimated to be more than $2.5 million. Local organisations boost their funds as stallholders including local schools, scouts and community groups did a brisk trade. The five whitebait patty stalls sold more than 400 kgs, where one Aucklander commented “$4 per patty in Hokitika, $20 at the Viaduct in Auckland.”

Start planning NOW for the next Hokitika Wildfoods Festival – 10 March 2007

Visit the official Hokitika Wildfoods Festival website.

More NZine articles featuring Hokitika
For more about Hokitika go to Trip from Nelson to Franz Josef in 2002.

For more about the innovative skills of Westland’s people at putting on a celebration go to Anniversary celebration of the first solo flight across the Tasman Sea.

To see the Wildfoods Festival featuring in a New Zealand film go to Magik and Rose

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