Scots flock to Te Anau for Tartan Festival
Thousands of Southlanders got the chance to embrace their Scottish roots at this year’s annual Te Anau Tartan Festival on Saturday.
Event co-organiser Kirsty Pickett said as well as the sun, thousands of people turned out for the day.
Southland had strong Scottish roots so it was an opportunity for people to get amongst it, she said.
The event, now in its fifth year, attracted about 2500 people, she said.
Events included caber tossing, sheaf tossing, rock carrying and the farmer’s walk, as well as highland dancing, piping, drumming, tug-o-war and food stalls.
This year new stalls including electric bikes and bumper balls brought something different to the day, Pickett said.
It was a day of ‘‘old-fashioned family fun’’ that attracted people of all ages and places, she said.
Kids running around in tartan filled Te Anau School grounds with smiling faces.
‘‘It was a beautiful, beautiful day . . . I just love seeing the smiles on people’s faces. ‘‘It was a great atmosphere.’’ In previous years the festival was a ‘‘big hit’’, and it had been fine-tuned to what it was today, she said.
People travelled from Christchurch, Oamaru, Dunedin, Alexandra and Invercargill especially for the event, she said.
In the past the event had attracted more international visitors, but this year had the most New Zealand entries.
The event was getting more known each year, she said.
‘‘I’d love to keep it going . . . we would love to think we were ‘the place’, especially for young pipers, to go.
‘‘The idea was really to make it a destination event.’’
But its life span depended volunteers to keep it going, she said.
This year about 60 volunteers helped out, including the Sky Tower challenge team from the fire brigade, Fiordland Athletic Club and Fiordland College netball teams. well- on