Wairarapa country music fest a success

Fiddler Marian Burns entertains the crowd at the Wairarapa Country Music Festival.PHOTO/FACEBOOK

Organisers are "over the moon" at the success of the Wairarapa Country Music Festival, held for the first time at the Tauherenikau Racecourse last weekend.

Thousands turned out for the three-day event, with weekend crowds making the most of some brilliant weather.

Wairarapa Racing Club publicity manager Matthew Sherry said there had been a "bit of nerves" on Friday, as organisers kept an eye on the weather in anticipation of the "show within a show" planned for Saturday night.

"There was a bit of nerves but the weather just turned it on, it was fantastic.

"It was a stunning night."

More than 2000 people, including plenty from within Wairarapa, attended the festival on Saturday, he said.

"It was superb. It was a great night. We had a couple of thousand people here.

"The dance floor was absolutely chocka."

There was a strong campground contingent, with 220 motorhomes at the event.

The festival, which previously had been held at the Clareville Showgrounds, proved Tauherenikau was a great venue for this type of event, Mr Sherry said.

The club was already in discussions with organisers about making next year's festival "bigger and better again", he said.