Monteith's head north for Labour Weekend festival

Greymouth and Paihia maybe miles apart geographically but they’re about to get a lot closer.

West Coast brewery, Monteith’s, is heading north to the small east coast township to support the inaugural ‘it! Bay of Islands Festival’ being held ahead over Labour Weekend (21 – 23 October, 2010).

The festival will take place on the Paihia Village Green and combine great food, wine, entertainment, fishing competitions and now great beer. Festival-goers are urged to ‘love it, cook it, drink it, bite it, sing it and catch it’ over three days.

Monteith’s marketing manager, Russell Browne says getting behind the new festival was a logical step given the boutique beer brand’s history of supporting community events and pairing fresh food with beer.

“This is an exciting new festival and one we can’t wait to get involved in. The setting is perfect to enjoy the range of Monteith’s with some fresh local food. It will be the perfect way to kick off summer”

The beauty of this festival is you can take in the whole 3 days or if you don’t want to catch fish and just fancy some great food, a cold Monteith's and to sit back and be entertained by legendary Kiwi band Dragon who are flying in from Australia to perform on the main stage during the event. The crowd is bound to be equally vocal watching the pie eating competition as well as the scallop shucking and kina sucking competitions.

Another key activity is a fishing tournament – Catch ‘it’ - hosted by Kiwi fishing icon Matt Watson. Spectators will be encouraged to fish, surf-cast, spearfish and dive for seafood. Entry to the event is $35 and those who need to tell the ‘one that got away tale’ will be able to console themselves with a daily wet fish auction at the end of each day. All proceeds from the auction go to the Paihia Volunteer Fire Brigade.

As well as showcasing the regions’ spectacular fishing, the festival will highlight the areas vineyards, Monteith’s beer and cider as well as delicious food like fresh salt and pepper calamari, sensational oyster shots and spicy curries. A kids zone complete with a magician, bubble machine and other entertainment will allow mums and dads the chance to take in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the festival knowing their kids are having an equally safe and fun time.

Ticket details and more information is available at www.paihianz.co.nz