Oyster festival tickets in demand
Tickets are selling fast for the 2013 Bluff Oyster and Food Festival and attracting international interest as far afield as Japan.
Bluff Publicity and Promotions officer Lindsay Beer said yesterday the festival, which will be held next month, had always attracted thousands to Bluff but this year tickets were selling faster than usual.
Already about 1500 had sold, including some to people in the United States, Japan and Australia.
One Japanese man wrote simply at the bottom of his email, ‘‘I love oyster’’.
About 30,000 oysters were required each year to indulge the 5000 festival-goers and would be served in a variety of ways. Top Kiwi band Goodshirt will entertain the crowd along with other musical outfits The Eastern, The Bold Deceivers and Jake McQuarrie with his band Tiedye.
Also among the entertainment would be oyster opening, oyster eating and blindfolded competitions, while the popular Kayes Bakery Creativity Awards would again be held.
The festival will be held at the Real Journeys site on Foreshore Rd adjacent to the Old Town Wharf in Bluff on May 25. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $5 for children aged 12 and under and are available from the Invercargill City Council, Bluff Service Centre, www.ticketdirect.co.nz, by calling 0800 484 2583 or from Barnes Oysters.