Strawberry Fare not dampened
Flooding problems have not deterred Christchurch stallholders from attending Saturday’s Strawberry Fare in Waimate.
There will be 280 stalls at Seddon Square, fare chairperson Joy McIvor said.
Fresh strawberries will also still feature despite recent hail storms.
McIvor said she had been assured by strawberry growers the main crop escaped damage.
The main crop is usually harvested the second week of December, in time for the fare, she said
Her own homegrown crop had also survived well.
With between 10,000 and 20,000 people expected at the daylong event plenty of entertainment is on offer. In the lineup are band Live Wire from Timaru, and musician Elly Rydge who grew up in Timaru but now based in Christchurch. Waimate’s Becka Clark will be performing, and the Waimate Pipe Band. Stilt walkers Highly Flammable from Dunedin, and acrobats who also stilt walk
Twisty Twins will put on a 20-minute show.
In a slightly different entertainment genre, Waimate resident Julie Anderson was planning a shave off with a few friends to raise funds for Cancer Society’s Relay for Life which will be held in the town in 2020. She has offered to have her head painted with the Cancer Society logo once she is bald.
Strawberry Fare founder and Butler’s Fruit Farms and Cafe co-owner Jackie Butler said that at the first fare in 1984 there were 400 people and she was impressed with how much it had grown.
The fare starts at 10am on Saturday. Entry is free.