Te Anau to get a boost from festival
Despite tough economic times in Fiordland, its businesses have rallied around organisers of this weekend’s Te Anau Tartan Festival.
Festival chairman Chris Watson said businesses had again supported the event in whatever way they could to make sure it was held.
‘‘Covid’s hurting a lot of people [in Te Anau] but everyone is still willing to help out [with the festival] because they know people are coming to town and they will benefit from it.
‘‘The building industry here is going strong and it’s more than happy to support us.’’
A Scottish-theme variety concert kicked off festivities last night. Today’s events include highland dancing, piping, highland games, market stalls and a dinner in the evening.
As well as being the chairman Watson will take photos of the event for the festival records, selling landscape photos at a market stall and giving encouragement to his daughters – Rylee, 11, Ava, 10, and Georgia, 13, in highland dancing events.
Co-founder and secretary Kirsty Pickett said the festival was in its seventh year and was started to provide a family event with a Scottish theme.
Some of festival’s founding members teach piping and highland dancing in Te Anau.
‘‘[The festival] was a way to give some of the kids [pipers and dancers] an outlet for local competitions,’’ Pickett said.
‘‘We’re showcasing piping and dancing . . . not so much about the history of Scotland.’’
Entrants for the piping and highland dancing competition circuit have come as far afield as Christchurch, Otago and Southland.
A lot of the 50 or 60 volunteers who help organisers to run the event are from the Fiordland athletics and netball clubs.
‘‘They all pitch in and help,’’ Pickett said.
‘‘There’s no way we could do it without that level of goodwill [from volunteers] . . . it’s just fantastic.’’