Salmon and wine festival popular

A switch of venue for the Twizel Salmon and Wine Festival seems to have boosted the popularity of the event.

On Saturday the festival will be held at Lake Ruataniwha for the first time and organisers have already sold three times the tickets compared to this time in previous years.

‘‘We were pretty contained in the (Twizel) market place and we could never get any bigger so it [the lake] allows for more stalls, more people, a bit more spread out and a fantastic location,’’ Twizel Promotions events manager Deborah Hunter said.

‘‘What better than to have a cold drink looking at the lake.’’

The event, which usually attracts 1500 festival-goers, will include 28 food and drink stalls and a full line up of entertainment from Casey Dixon, Saggy Britches Band, Brad Staley Band, Lieutenant Lou and Mullet Man.

The location next to the lake has allowed the introduction of pedal boats .

As well as a new venue, the festival will include craft stalls for the first time and is introducing branded glass tumblers, included in the ticket price.

‘‘We have done plastic glasses in the past and unfortunately they are neither compostable or recyclable and you want to do the right thing looking forward,’’ Hunter said.

While most stalls will have eftpos and a mobile ATM will be on site, it is a good idea to bring some cash on the day, Hunter said.

A free shuttle will be run from Twizel Market Place all day from 10.30am, and buses will run from Wanaka and Oamaru, which can be booked on 021668113. Saturday’s festival runs 11am-5pm at the Lake Ruataniwha rowing complex. Advance tickets are $20 at Twizel Information Centre or through eventfinder.