The Southland Times

How $10 helped make the world Bluff’s oyster

- BLAKE FODEN blake.foden@fairfaxmed­ia.co.nz Opinion Features Weather Business Television Puzzles Sport/Racing Classified­s index

Every year people flock to the south from all over the globe for an event worth thousands, but the story of the modern-day Bluff Oyster and Food Festival all starts with a $10 note. It was December 2007, and after 11 years during which it battled a ravaging parasite, wild weather, financial hardship and even the threat of an explosion, the festival was at a crossroads.

A move to Invercargi­ll the following year was all but set in stone, with thenorgani­sers Venture Southland pushing to make the festival part of a wider ‘‘Taste of Southland’’ event. But Bluff had other ideas. ‘‘We called a meeting at the town hall,’’ Bluff oysterman John Edminstin recalls.

‘‘It was our festival and we had to make sure it stayed where it belonged.’’

Edminstin left the meeting as chairman of a new-look committee and former ‘‘Bluffie’’ Ann Gopi, delighted the event was to remain in her hometown, sent the fledgling group its first donation – a $10 note. ‘‘I just thought it was a wonderful idea and I figured if everyone donated a little bit it would be enough to really get it going,’’ Gopi said.

‘‘It’s just nice to keep these things local – if it had have been taken away from Bluff it just wouldn’t be the same and who knows if it would still be going.’’

With donations starting to flood in and the support of a passionate group of locals behind him, Edminstin set about taking the festival ‘‘back to basics’’ and putting the focus back on the people.

The committee scrapped the ‘‘corporate feel’’ introduced by Venture and immediatel­y saw an increase of more than 1000 people through the gates in 2008, Edminstin said.

Today, a crowd of about 5000 is expected to walk through a different set of gates as the festival unveils its new allweather site – which appropriat­ely stands across the road from Gopi’s old home.

Punters will crack open oysters by the thousand, lap up the spirit of eating and opening competitio­ns and enjoy musical entertainm­ent, all with the guarantee there will be no repeat of last year’s weather woes.

In less than eight years, the event has come a long way from the days when the committee had just $10 in its coffers.

‘‘We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved – everyone on the committee is an unpaid volunteer who puts in an enormous effort for the community,’’ Edminstin said.

‘‘From the volunteers and the funders to Real Journeys, who have given us access to their car parks and sites over the years, so many people have helped us get to where we are.’’

The long-term plan was always for the festival to move into a permanent site, which would serve as a community venue all year round, Edminstin said.

‘‘We’ve been so busy trying to get it ready, we haven’t even picked a name for it yet,’’ he laughed.

Edminstin said the feeling of seeing the festival come together was ‘‘incredible’’, but the most rewarding thing was seeing the small town come to life.

For him, the festival is about two things – bringing people together and boosting the Bluff economy.

‘‘A lot of money comes into Bluff from the North Island and overseas – from people who wouldn’t otherwise be here – because they come to the festival and they stay a few nights, eat at the pub, shop at the supermarke­t, buy fuel from our petrol stations,’’ Edminstin said.

‘‘For a few days, everyone wins and it’s a huge lift.’’

Bluff publicity and promotions officer Lindsay Beer has seen them all, from the days of outdoor oyster-tasting events to the fledgling festivals, and now, the grand spectacle that attracts thousands.

He said he never doubted the event would grow to the point it had reached today.

‘‘It started off in the pub with oyster opening and eating races, and gradually it became an outdoor event,’’ Beer said.

‘‘We started to realise there were people coming from way further afield than Southland and we thought, ‘wow, this could be big’.’’

Beer said people came to the festival from the United States, all over Europe, Japan and Australia.

‘‘We’ve quite often had an internatio­nal oyster-eating competitio­n at some point during the day,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s just the Bluff oyster – people love it and it’s the big drawcard.’’

Gates open at the new festival venue on the corner of Lee and Barrow streets at 10.30am today. Tickets are available for $25 for adults and $7 for children aged 12 and under. Winter will rear its head this weekend with low temperatur­es and the possibilit­y of snow in Southland. But it won’t bother those attending the Bluff Oyster and Food Festival – too much. While MetService is predicting a high of just 11C, with occasional showers and strong westerly winds, festival-goers can dispense with the winter woollies, or at least their raincoats, thanks to the festival’s new buildings. Bluff publicity and promotions officer Lindsay Beer said thousands of man hours had gone in to developing the 6000sqm building site, and with 70 per cent of it under cover, crowds would be well catered for. MetService meteorolog­ist Stephen Glassey said there would be occasional showers and strong westerly winds, particular­ly near the coast. However, Sunday was looking a lot worse with a polar blast expected to come through, bringing cold air from Antarctica, he said.

 ?? Photo: NICOLE JOHNSTONE/ FAIRFAX NZ 630902952 ?? Former Bluff woman Ann Gopi donated $10 to get the Bluff Oyster and Food Festival going.
Photo: NICOLE JOHNSTONE/ FAIRFAX NZ 630902952 Former Bluff woman Ann Gopi donated $10 to get the Bluff Oyster and Food Festival going.
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 ??  ?? Stephen Phillip Long
Stephen Phillip Long
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