1 February 2008

Gibbston Valley Community Association

A record number of food and wine stalls together with more focus on family will greet those attending this year's PBT Gibbston Harvest Festival.

"Each marquee pairs a local winery with a local restaurant. Since the number of wine producers in the Gibbston sub-region has grown, we were able to add more restaurants this year," said festival organiser Susan Stevens.

The event maintains a strictly local focus. All wines on offer must contain fruit grown in Gibbston and only local restaurants are accepted.

"It's about celebrating all the things Gibbston has to offer - the fantastic wines, the beautiful scenery, the community spirit," Greg Hay, festival committee member and Sales and Marketing Director for Peregrine Wines, said.

Each year a local charity is selected to receive the proceeds from ticket sales. Both previous festivals were well supported and the event raised just under $10,000 for the Wakatipu Junior Footie Club (2006) and. $10,000 for the Bruce Grant Youth Trust (2007).

This year the event is supporting the Gibbston River Trail, which is an 8.5-km walking and mountain biking trail that is being developed by Wakatipu Trails Trust, DoC, the local community, and Queenstown Lakes District Council along the Kawarau River.

The efforts to develop the trail were recognised as the Supreme Winners of the TrustPower awards for the Queenstown Lakes District this year. The group will represent the district at the National competition the weekend after the Harvest Festival.

A key goal for festival organisers is to keep the event affordable for local families. "We could not possibly keep the ticket prices as low as we have without the financial support of Peter Baker Transport, PBT, our primary sponsor," Stevens said.

"With support from PBT, the festival is growing, but we'll keep the family picnic style atmosphere that locals seem to love. The children's area will have more new games and activities for a broader age range, we're adding master classes for mum and dad, and we've increased the amount of leisure seating. We hope it will be a great family day out in the Gibbston," Stevens said.

The festival will be held on Saturday, March 15th from 11am to 4pm at Mt. Rosa Wines on the Gibbston Back Road.

ENDS

For further information please contact Susan Stevens Phone: 03 441 8919 Fax: 03 441 8940 E-mail: terymesu@xtra.co.nz

By: Tamah