Lavender festival celebrates art, food
Limestone Valley will light up on Sunday as artisans, artists, actors and musicians gather for an outdoor festival.
The second annual Limestone Valley Estate Festival of Lavender and the Arts is set to tempt taste buds and stimulate the senses as a variety of home grown talent goes on display, and available to sample.
The festival is the brainchild of thespian and lavender lover Rob Martin.
Martin said he was enthused about combining local drama, music and food, with a scenic backdrop, in an outdoor setting.
Martin grows lavender and olives on his Taiko Rd lifestyle block in Cave, which he said was a bare block of land when he bought it 20 years ago.
The harvest is locally processed and becomes body butter, raw oil, therapeutic oil, massage oil, soap and candles, which are then sold to the domestic market.
The climate in Limestone Valley was akin to the south of France, the home of great laven- der, he said.
‘‘Right behind me is a lime works and the southerly blows all the lime dust in so I don’t use any fertiliser.
‘‘Essentially Martin said.
A native of Australia, Martin moved to South Canterbury after falling in love with New Zealand.
‘‘What I am trying to do is support local talent and put it in a great outdoor setting.’’
Martin also wanted to showcase his property which he said he had ‘‘put his heart and soul into’’.
‘‘It’s something different I’m organic,’’ as Timaru doesn’t have anything else like this.
‘‘From my point of view, having theatre in an outdoor area, such as this, is a spectacular thing.’’
About a dozen stallholders are expected on site and entertainment will be provided by the Rage Studios dancers, Viv Solly, Mountainview High School students, Stage and Sing Theatre students and the Timaru Rock and Roll Club.
The festival kicks off at 10am at 1463 Taiko Rd - tickets are $5 for children, $10 for adults and $25 for a family of four.
Health warning
A warning is in place for Saltwater Creek at Coonoor Rd after monitoring identified ‘‘relatively large amounts of a potentially toxic planktonic cyanobacteria’’. The South Canterbury District Health Board issued a warning on Friday and said signage will be erected. It follows a warning being put in place for the Opihi River earlier in the week. South Canterbury Medical Officer of Health Dr Daniel Williams said the algal mats can produce toxins harmful to humans and animals. ‘‘Exposure may cause skin rashes, nausea, stomach cramps, tingling and numbness around the mouth and fingertips. No one should drink the water from the river at any time.’’ Animals should be taken to a vet immediately if they come into contact with the rivers.
$100k plus raised
More than $100,000 was raised in Temuka for an organisation that supports people with intellectual disabilities. Two hundred and eightyeight calves were sold at the Temuka IHC Calf Sale on Thursday, raising about $109,000 for the organisation. The IHC Calf and Rural Scheme has been running for the past 30 years, raising millions of dollars for IHC New Zealand through farmers donating stock. IHC Calf & Rural Scheme coordinator Lynda Young-Kennedy said the sale had been ‘‘wonderful’’. ‘‘Every donation is wonderful, our farmers keep providing awesome calves.’’ A further 30 calves were being sold on Friday and the total amount of money raised would be tallied next Monday, she said.
New Spark store
Telecommunications company Spark will open a new temporary premises today following the closure of its store on Stafford St due to earthquake concerns. The closure followed an audit conducted by the company due to health and safety requirements. The new store is located at the old MacPac store between T&T Childrensware and Rose Boutique gift shop on Stafford St. A spokesperson said the company was committed to having a presence in Timaru and would be either opening a new store or returning to the previous site following remedial work.