Martinborough Fair April 2021. PHOTO/FILE
One of the region’s most iconic events has been given the green light to proceed.
After months of uncertainty navigating changing covid regulations and considering different venues, the Martinborough Fair is now tipped to happen at the end of the month.
The event is generally in and around Martinborough square, but was planned for Tauherenikau racecourse this year due to covid. That plan was later cancelled after covid restrictions tightened.
The South Wairarapa Rotary club organised event has now been approved for central Martinborough by South Wairarapa District council for 30 April, with the second of the two fair days planned for 26 November.
South Wairarapa district mayor Alex Beijen said the council was very pleased the event was back on.
“The council is, as always, very supportive of the Martinborough Fair, and has been working with Rotary to keep this on the agenda for 2022 within the confines of Covid restrictions,” he said.
“It’s great to see this back in the calendar and I will be there supporting stallholders.”
Fair co-convenor Paul Mason said hundreds of stallholders had already signed up, with more expected.
A wide range of local produce, handmade crafts, food, beverages and more would be available.
Mason said although the good news had been confirmed in the past few days, a lot of the hard work was already done.
“It’s good to see the fair is happening.”
“We are finalising the stall holders,” he said.
“About 320 are already confirmed, but there will be more.”
Mason said there was still concern around the impact of covid, and some needed time to make final decisions.
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Last year there had been about 520 stalls at the fair.
“Smaller numbers of stalls will allow people to move between the lanes of stalls more easily,” he said.
He expected a good level of interest in the event.
“The epidemiologists have told us outdoor events are safer than indoor events. I’m hopeful people will feel comfortable enough to come along.”
Vivienne O’Reilly, also a convenor of the fair, said South Wairarapa Rotary club was pleased the event was going ahead.
“I’m delighted we can do it, it’s just lovely we can get back into it,” she said.
“It’s been a delightful surprise we can go ahead.”
O’Reilly said organisers were pulling out all the stops for the event.
The fair is weather dependent.
More information about the event is at https://martinboroughfair.org.nz/
