A Berry Affair prompts need for highway road safety plan

The speed limit on a stretch of State Highway 1 near Waimate will be slashed to 50kmh on Saturday to accommodate a market celebrating the berry season.

Butler’s Fruit Farm manager Donald Butler said reducing the speed limit from 100kmh outside his farm, the venue for A Berry Affair, was part of a safety plan ensuring through-traffic was unaffected by cars coming and going from the event.

‘‘It’s about slowing everybody down. Road cones will divide the traffic up, so through-traffic can keep going,’’ Butler said.

Waimate’s Strawberry Fare was originally scheduled for this weekend but when the annual event was cancelled amid Covid-19 concerns, four of the district’s berry growers joined forces to organise a similar event.

‘‘We have combined to make sure there’s plenty of strawberries for everyone,’’ Butler said.

‘‘We’re going to have plenty of raspberries too. Normally the raspberries are not ready at this time, but they are now.

‘‘There’s going to be music, food, and other stallholders with the theme of berries.’’

Butler said the new event had attracted an ‘‘amazing amount of interest’’ and a ‘‘reasonable amount’’ of stallholders, with more expected to sign up.

Hook Old School owner David Atherton had been taking strawberries he grew at his farm, converted from a 1920s school, to the Strawberry Fare for 14 years and looked forward to doing the same at this year’s similar event.

‘‘It’s nice Waimate’s got its own thing,’’ Atherton said.

‘‘It’s just something different with a bit of different stuff, and it’s a good day out.’’

Atherton also regularly took his produce, which included asparagus, to farmers’ markets around South Canterbury. He had a stall at last weekend’s Festival of Roses as well.

‘‘Since Covid, people are buying more local produce,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s good, it’s positive that I can’t seem to sell enough. Maybe that’s a sign of what’s to come.’’

The Strawberry Fare, which attracts up to 12,000 people to Waimate each year, was established 30 years ago but 2020 marked the first time it had been cancelled.

A Berry Affair runs from 10am to 4pm on Saturday. While there is no entry fee, visitors have the option of donating a gold coin to St John.