Media Release

Sunday 13 March 2011

Christchurch contingent takes a breather at Hokitika Wildfoods Festival

A large contingent of Canterbury gourmands and stallholders took a breather from the post-earthquake clean-up in Christchurch to join in the stomach-challenging fun at the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival on Saturday March 12.

“It was great to see them here and we made sure they had a big welcome,” festival organiser Mike Keenan said.

About 10,000 people from all over the country descended on tiny 3,400-population Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island for the annual event.

Attending the festival – now in its 22^nd year – has become a traditional rite for students. Festival organisers donated 300 tickets free to the student army that has been cleaning up Christchurch streets and properties since the earthquake on 22 February. The Farmy Army was also sent 200 free tickets in appreciation of their efforts.

“Our stallholders love to chat with the customers and, on the day, if they found out it was a member of the clean-up army they were serving, they’d give them a sample for free,” Mr Keenan said.

While a few stallholders from Christchurch had to pull out of the event, others had their best day ever, including Nico Fini who returned from Waiheke Island where he has taken his family since the earthquake.

Mr Fini, whose Urban Escargot stall has been at the event for 17 years, said people kept coming back for more of his famous lamb shanks, snails imported from Burgundy, and “Viagra” cookies.

 “I have to make this my last year at the festival now I’ve moved north, but I so enjoy being here I would like to find a way to bring my stall back again without it costing too much.”

Another stallholder from Christchurch, Robyn Perkins, was an energetic sight, pedalling a stationary bicycle to power her fruit smoothie blender. She said, “It was touch and go but we couldn’t stay away from the Hokitika festival.”

• Happy, laid-back crowd

Mr Keenan said, “I rate this as one of the best festivals we’ve had. The crowd was one of the best I’ve seen and there was a relaxed, happy, laid-back atmosphere to the day.”

“The weather was sunny and warm and everyone was well behaved. The alcohol stallholders did their part by handing out bottles of water to help keep alcohol levels down. From the campsites to the hotels, the whole town played its part in making this a great weekend. The St John Ambulance team on site said they had fewer issues to deal with than at any time in the past.”

Dances were held on both Friday and Saturday nights at the venue with the wide range of entertainers providing for most musical tastes.

Tiny Hokitika has become highly efficient at accommodating festival-goers. Tent cities spring up in school and camping grounds throughout the area.

Strict rules help keep the peace with no drinking and no glass allowed on the streets downtown and all alcohol at the festival venue in Cass Square sold in plastic cups.

West Coast Police Senior Sergeant Tim Crawford said, “I’m really pleased with people’s behaviour. Arrests were significantly down on previous years and they were low level offending, mainly breaches of the liquor bans around town.”

Mr Keenan was delighted that 10,000 festival-goers turned up when, just a few weeks earlier, rumours that the festival was cancelled were circulating on Facebook, based on early difficulties the festival was having sourcing portaloos after the Christchurch earthquake.

“We had a bit of work to do to scotch that rumour and did it through Facebook. And we did have portaloos on the day,” he said.

• Outrageous food

The Hokitika Wildfoods Festival is listed by the Frommer Travel Guide in its top 300 unmissable festivals and events around the world.

Festival organiser Mike Keenan says, “We certainly lay claim to being the most outrageous food festival.”

About 65 food stalls plied the festival patrons with palate-challenging fare. 

New food this year included:

-      Stallion semen protein shots

-      Raw and cooked scorpions

-      Chocolate-dipped chillies

-      Smoked manuka egg shots

-      Deep fried baby octopus

-      Pickled huhu grubs

-      Seagull eggs

The stallion semen protein shots, specially separated under laboratory conditions to leave a light, milky but live protein fluid, drew a crowd. Stallholder and artificial insemination technician Lindsay Kerslake came up with the idea and made world headlines when it was announced as part of the festival line-up.

 “Think of it like a healthy energy milkshake. Stallions are pure testosterone so you should have as much zizz as a stallion for a week,” he said.

• Mayor of Westland braves stallion protein shots

Westland Mayor Maureen Pugh took a deep breath and allowed stallion waitress Kristi Jenkins to administer a stallion shot – au naturel in flavour – via laboratory syringe.

The crowd applauded her bravery.

Afterwards, Ms Pugh said, “There was a moment when I wasn’t sure I could swallow it but it wasn’t too bad.”

Following her example, many others lined up for a shot. Staff at the stall said during the day, many who’d given it a try returned, bringing others to have a go.

• Safe to eat

Mr Keenan said the semen shots were safe to ingest as were all the outrageous foods at the show like raw scorpions, grasshoppers and live huhu grubs. The huhu grubs remain a top attraction every year. Rotten logs are chopped open on site to reveal the grubs feeding inside. For the less daring gourmands, another stall was offering the huhus pickled on a toothpick.

Mother and son Susan and Joseph Wells from Auckland came specially to be at the festival. Both downed some live huhus and shuddered at the experience. Mrs Wells said,“It was slightly hairy and creamy when it burst, and it tickled all the way down.” Joseph, after recovering with hands pressed to his chest, said, “Ooh, the head was crunchy.”

Festival-goer TJ Brennan from Connecticut, US, downed a raw pickled scorpion and was quick to grab a fruit juice slug to help wash the taste away. Mr Brennan, who has been working on a dairy farm at Te Anau, said he was homeward bound to the States and didn’t want to miss the festival before he left. Last seen he was doggedly working his way round all the most outrageous food stalls to sample their wares.

West Coast polytechnic, Tai Poutini, provided the scorpions, both raw and cooked. Tutor Larry Naylor says the scorpions are specially bred in Mexico for human consumption. The stings in the tails must be removed manually before customers pop them into their mouths.

• More traditional fare

Plenty or conventional food was available for satisfying the appetite. They included champion Wanaka sausage maker Simon Tiefenbach, originally from Germany, who uses his grandfather’s recipe for the pork and fennel sausages that have won him the Supreme Gold award in the Great New Zealand Sausage Competition.

• Festival good for the community

Most of the stallholders had sold out all their food by the end of the day, with community group stallholders making the event their annual fundraising event.

“The festival is a major fundraiser for community groups on the West Coast, for example, the Karamea Community Hall kitchen has been entirely refurbished with funds from their stall,” Mr Keenan said.

Stu Moir, of the South Westland Whitebait and Smelt stall, was once again able to make his annual $2,500 donation to the West Coast Cancer Society.

Hi-res photos available from lynsey@morris-ppr.co.nz

Photos Stewart Nimmo

3057, 3060, 3062, 3066

Before, during and after - Westland mayor Maureen Pugh dares to sample stallion protein shots at the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival – via lab syringe administered by waitress Kristi Jenkins and to applause from the crowd.

3013

Mermaids from Perth and Rotorua tempted into tasting stallion protein by waitress Kristi Jenkins: Gay Verhoogt from Perth, at left, travelled specially for the festival and joined mates Juliet Schultz, centre, and Sheryl Todd from Rotorua.

Photos 2913, 2920:

Raw pickled scorpion minus the sting - TJ Brennan simply had to try the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival fare before returning home to Connecticut in the US after a stint working on a dairy farm at Te Anau. He was relieved to have a slug of fruit juice to wash away the taste and dislodge the little bits of shell clinging to the roof of the mouth. West Coast polytechnic, Tai Poutini, provided the scorpions, both raw and cooked. Tutor Larry Naylor says the scorpions are specially bred in Mexico for human consumption.

Photos 2996, 2999:

Mum and son Joseph and Susan Wells have their first taste of live huhu grubs. They came from Auckland specially for the festival.

Media release - 7 March 2011

Earthquake volunteers get big thanks from Hokitika Wildfoods Festival

Volunteers from the Student Volunteer Army and Farmy Army will take a well earned break at this weekend’s Hokitika Wildfoods Festival after festival organisers offered 500 free tickets to those wishing to attend.

The volunteers have been working tirelessly cleaning Christchurch streets and property since the devastating earthquake.

We’re strong believers in credit where credit is due says Wildfoods Festival organiser Mike Keenan.

“It is fantastic to think these groups got up so quickly to help Christchurch, they’ve been a godsend to the city”.

“The students were amazing last earthquake and have pulled together again, and farmers are such busy people it’s wonderful they’ve given so much time and energy.  This is a way we can say thank you,” he says.

Student Volunteer Army organiser Jade Rutherford says the students are delighted with the offer with many of the organisers, team leaders and volunteers definitely planning to attend.

“It’s really important we take care of our volunteers, they’ve worked so hard over the last two weeks.  It’s great to be able to offer them tickets to the festival so they can get out of town and have a break for a couple of days,” she says.

“Last weekend we had a two day break and volunteers arrived back refreshed and raring to go”.

Federated Farmers Field Officer Vicky O’Connor says the Farmy Army have had an enormous team of volunteers helping since the quake. 

“Volunteers have been there for the long haul and they deserve some recognition, it’s great to be able to thank them with the festival tickets,” she says.

The festival is now in its 22nd year and is firmly established among the top 300 unmissable festivals in the whole world, as rated by Frommers Travel Guides.

For more information

Contact :

Mike Keenan

Wildfoods Festival Events Coordinator

03 756 9049 or 021 650 119

Media Release

1 March 2011

The world is coming to Hokitika Wildfoods Festival

International media have been enticed by the unusual and stomach-challenging delicacies on offer at the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival and will jostle with their Kiwi counterparts for tastings on Saturday March 12.

Queries and exclamations have been coming from all corners of the globe, including from Spanish newspaper El Pais, from Brazil, from the Wall Street Journal editions in the UK, France and the Netherlands, and from World TV serving Korean and Chinese viewers.

The introduction of horse semen shots at this year’s 22^nd anniversary festival has prompted Finland television’s Maria Talk Show to plan its own tasting. It will screen people downing horse semen shots live on screen next Wednesday and has emailed festival organisers for the recipe.

Our Aussie media cousins are also likely to be throwing back horse semen “protein” shots following a learned dissertation on the topic from festival organiser Mike Keenan interviewed on Perth’s Ugly Phil breakfast show.

“I’ve been practising greetings in all languages but have yet to find a phrase in any that says ‘swallow this morsel and experience a life-changing moment’,” Mr Keenan said.

“However, smiles and ‘come on, have a go’ gestures are universal.”

The festival has spent the past 21 years earning its deserved reputation as the most outrageous wildfoods experience.

With its penchant for introducing new menu challenges each year, the festival is now established firmly among the top 300 unmissable festivals in the whole world, as rated by Frommers Travel Guides.

100 free tickets to Christchurch’s Student Volunteer Army

The Christchurch earthquake clean-up work provided by the University of Canterbury Student Volunteer Army has prompted the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival to offer 100 free tickets for students wishing to attend.

“We stand in admiration of the way the young people of the city have rallied to help with what seem like insurmountable tasks of cleaning up all the silt and debris thrown up by the earthquake,” festival organiser Mike Keenan said.

“Canterbury students traditionally join us at the festival as a rite of passage to start their university year.

“We welcome them once again and offer 100 free tickets through their organisation to help some of them on their way.”

The festival is not just about weird and wonderful food – though that is the major attraction.

A wide variety of top class music also makes for a wonderful weekend of foot stomping and prancing - with each year’s line-up surpassing the years before.

Top liners, the fabulous Beat Girls, will rock the huhus out of the crowd with their tribute act. Add jazz, blues, country blues crossovers, junk shop guitar folk rock, and covers of greatest hits – and you have something for every taste from a menu of accomplished bands.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet will turn lunch into a visual treat with its Tutus on Tour interactive workshop. Let alone the spectacle of the Hokitika Belly Dancers.

The return of Monteith’s as the beer of choice has been widely welcomed.

Further information:

Mike Keenan

Hokitika Wildfoods Festival Events Coordinator

64 21 650 119 / 64 3 756 9049

Media Release

1 March 2011

The world is coming to Hokitika Wildfoods Festival

International media have been enticed by the unusual and stomach-challenging delicacies on offer at the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival and will jostle with their Kiwi counterparts for tastings on Saturday March 12.

Queries and exclamations have been coming from all corners of the globe, including from Spanish newspaper El Pais, from Brazil, from the Wall Street Journal editions in the UK, France and the Netherlands, and from World TV serving Korean and Chinese viewers.

The introduction of horse semen shots at this year’s 22^nd anniversary festival has prompted Finland television’s Maria Talk Show to plan its own tasting. It will screen people downing horse semen shots live on screen next Wednesday and has emailed festival organisers for the recipe.

Our Aussie media cousins are also likely to be throwing back horse semen “protein” shots following a learned dissertation on the topic from festival organiser Mike Keenan interviewed on Perth’s Ugly Phil breakfast show.

“I’ve been practising greetings in all languages but have yet to find a phrase in any that says ‘swallow this morsel and experience a life-changing moment’,” Mr Keenan said.

“However, smiles and ‘come on, have a go’ gestures are universal.”

The festival has spent the past 21 years earning its deserved reputation as the most outrageous wildfoods experience.

With its penchant for introducing new menu challenges each year, the festival is now established firmly among the top 300 unmissable festivals in the whole world, as rated by Frommers Travel Guides.

100 free tickets to Christchurch’s Student Volunteer Army

The Christchurch earthquake clean-up work provided by the University of Canterbury Student Volunteer Army has prompted the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival to offer 100 free tickets for students wishing to attend.

“We stand in admiration of the way the young people of the city have rallied to help with what seem like insurmountable tasks of cleaning up all the silt and debris thrown up by the earthquake,” festival organiser Mike Keenan said.

“Canterbury students traditionally join us at the festival as a rite of passage to start their university year.

“We welcome them once again and offer 100 free tickets through their organisation to help some of them on their way.”

The festival is not just about weird and wonderful food – though that is the major attraction.

A wide variety of top class music also makes for a wonderful weekend of foot stomping and prancing - with each year’s line-up surpassing the years before.

Top liners, the fabulous Beat Girls, will rock the huhus out of the crowd with their tribute act. Add jazz, blues, country blues crossovers, junk shop guitar folk rock, and covers of greatest hits – and you have something for every taste from a menu of accomplished bands.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet will turn lunch into a visual treat with its Tutus on Tour interactive workshop. Let alone the spectacle of the Hokitika Belly Dancers.

The return of Monteith’s as the beer of choice has been widely welcomed.

Further information:

Mike Keenan

Hokitika Wildfoods Festival Events Coordinator

64 21 650 119 / 64 3 756 9049

Media Release for Food and Event Writers

11 February 2011

Where the Wild Foods Are

When you go down to the Wildfoods Festival in Hokitika on Saturday March 12, you’d better go in disguise for every creature that ever there was will gather there to eat or be eaten.

As picnics go, the festival has spent the past 21 years earning its deserved reputation as the most outrageous wildfoods experience. With its penchant for introducing new menu challenges each year, the festival is now established firmly among the top 300 unmissable festivals in the whole world, as rated by Frommers Travel Guides.

Disguises are de rigueur for many returning patrons who vie for the top costume prize of an overseas holiday. The 22^nd anniversary theme of Where the Wild Foods Are will ensure innovation is to the fore – patrons are expected to be indistinguishable from the dishes on the menu.

A wide variety of top class music makes for a wonderful weekend of foot stomping and prancing - with each year’s line-up surpassing the years before.

Top liners, the fabulous Beat Girls, will rock the huhus out of the crowd with their tribute act.   Add jazz, blues, country blues crossovers, junk shop guitar folk rock, and covers of greatest hits – and you have something for every taste from a menu of accomplished bands.

The Royal New Zealand Ballet will turn lunch into a visual treat with its Tutus on Tour interactive workshop. Let alone the spectacle of the Hokitika Belly Dancers.

Among the new foods this year are:

• Free tastings of weka – along with tastings of pukeko
• Horse semen shots (washed down with a  big swig of Red Bull)
• Kaio (sea tulip) shots
• Raw and cooked scorpions
• And several scrumptious but less adventurous treats like venison chilli and garlic sea cucumber.

Organiser Mike Keenan says, “The quality of absolutely everything at the festival gets better each year. We’re like a fine wine – maturity becomes us.”

The return of Monteith’s as the beer of choice has been widely welcomed.

Media wishing to attend should contact Lynsey Morgan – lynsey@morris-ppr.co.nz.

Further information:

Mike Keenan

Hokitika Wildfoods Festival organiser

021 650 119

Some juicy bites from the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival history book:

·        The Hokitika Wildfoods Festival is one of Frommer's top 300 unmissable festivals and events around the world. The travel giant’s top festival agent stated it was only because “Australia’s outback festival scared tourists away from the country after seeing how big their wild insects could get.”

·        The concept of the wildfoods festival germinated from a tame – but delicious – West Coast wild gorse flower wine made by local woman, Claire Bryant. Now she brews distilled spirits from the local Hokitika cemetery.

·        Did you know the pig snout dish is great for the health of your fingernails and hair? Three months after the 2003 festival, Woodstock resident Mary Wells had to use her uncle’s pruning shears to trim her toenails.

·        In 2003, over 15,000 people surveyed at the festival thought bulls’ penises were better than a feed at Hokitika’s Paddy’s Pie Cart.

·        Last year’s wasp larvae ice-cream was claimed to be the new Hokey Pokey, and a well-known ice-cream brand is rumoured to be negotiating a limited edition release for supermarkets.

·        A Japanese game show once used the festival to encourage couples to find love through interesting experiences. Akiko Hita and Yu Yatumi fed each other huhu grubs in 2006 and nine months later triplet huhus were born under their duvet.

·        After John Key attended the festival in 2007, he was told he was not welcome back until he became the Prime Minister. John Key admitted this was his primary reason for campaigning so hard the following year.

·        When Hokitika ran out of toilet paper during the 2001 festival, an all-stations bulletin was broadcast in Canterbury advising the red and blacks to follow the West Coast tradition next time – used both sides.

·        In 2004, Statistics Department census clerks used the festival as a staff training exercise and counted 7,426,241 whitebait served in patties that year.

·        When the Earl of Normandy opened the festival in 2008, he headed directly to the Brunner Boys Club stall seeking their recipe for wild pig gut kebabs with fresh eel slime sauce.

MEDIA RELEASE

19^th January, 2011

MONTEITH’S RETURNS TO SPONSOR 2011 HOKITIKA WILDFOOD FESTIVAL

Monteith’s, one of the original sponsors of the iconic Hokitika Wildfood Festival, has renewed its beer sponsorship for the 2011 event.

This year’s festival, themed ‘Where the Wild Foods Are’ takes place in Hokitika on Saturday 12th March.

Westland Business Unit’s general manager Sonya Matthews says she’s delighted that Monteith’s is involved once again in the festival.

“We’ve always enjoyed a great working relationship with the team at Monteith’s and it’s great to have them back as our official beer given their lengthy heritage on the coast.”

Monteith’s was established on the West Coast in 1868 but its popularity has spread much further than the South Island. Monteith’s is now a firm favourite across Australian and is sold in the UK.

Monteith’s first appeared at the Wildfoods Festival in 1990 but became an official sponsor in 1995. The sponsorship arrangement lasted until 2006…..17 years in total.

 Monteith’s marketing manager, Russell Browne says the Monteith’s team is looking forward to being back at the festival and showcasing some of their more recent varietals to festival-goers.

“We’ve launched many new variants since 2006 and recently added two ciders to the Monteith’s family which have been received extremely well. All our beers match with food, even food that is slightly unusual or wild!”

Tickets to the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival can be purchased through Ticketdirect www.ticketdirect.co.nz for $37.

CAPTION: The Monteith’s team and fans are looking forward to being at Hokitika Wildfoods Festival in March.

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Jo Jalfon                                                                                              Sonya Matthews

Communications Manager                                                          General Manager

Monteith’s                                                                                         Westland Business Unit

Tel: 09 259 3156                                                                                Tel: 03 756 9087

Mobile: 027 471 8855                                                                     Email: sonya.matthews@westlanddc.govt.nz

Email: jo.jalfon@monteiths.co.nz