Rotorua residents have free entry to both Day 5 and Day 6 with proof of ID and address.
It's the final weekend of Crankworx 2018 - and if you haven't been along to soak up the action yet, today is just the day.
Event director Ariki Tibble said he was "absolutely chuffed" with the crowds so far, and locals had made the most of free entry on Wednesday and Thursday.
"We had the biggest crowd yet for the Pump Track on Thursday night. The trail we built for that had greater capacity and better vantage points so we got more through the gate."
The event, which started last Saturday, was growing bigger each year.
"We have a new cafe and bar set up around the tracks this year, and extra vendors set up too."
With weather issues on the horizon, Crankworx organisers have decided to open the gates at the Skyline Gravity Park early today, from 8am.
The Crankworx Rotorua Slopestyle in Memory of McGazza - which traditionally draws the biggest crowds and the most spectacular jumps and tricks - is scheduled to go live sometime between 10am and 3.30pm. The exact start time will be dependent on the weather.
Leading up to today, the team from Elevate Trail Building have been hard at work re-visioning and re-shaping the dirt that will set the stage.
Tom Hey said it was no easy feat given the hands of a legend helped lay the original foundation, and for the past three years the world's best had sung its praises while launching off it to previously unimaginable heights.
New Zealand mountain biker Kelly McGarry helped design and build one of the best slopestyle courses in the world with Hey before he died in 2016. The event was renamed in his honour.
The nine-day event concludes tomorrow with the Downhill competitions.
The opening ceremony of Crankworx Rotorua 2018 at Eat Street. Photo/Fraser Britton
Eat Streat bars and restaurants have their fingers crossed for extra business this weekend, after a disappointing Crankworx period so far.
"There is definitely not as many people down here as previous years, we have not seen as much business," Brew Craft Beer Pub manager Mel Rolfe said.
"We had high expectations from previous years but this one has not been as beneficial for us."
The opening ceremony of Crankworx Rotorua 2018 at Eat Street. Photo/Fraser Britton
She said Brew had seen "basically the same amount of patrons as usual - a mix of tourists and locals rather than the Crankworx crowd".
"I think they are holding a lot more for them up on the mountain."
Ambrosia Restaurant and Bar co-manager Annemarie Kemplay said she also felt Eat Streat was "over-prepared" this year.
"We have all been talking about it on the street, we have not seen the rush we were expecting this week.
"At Ambrosia we had mentally prepared for lots of people, we had extra staff on hold and had ordered extra beer. We would rather be overwhelmed than have the numbers we have had."
She agreed extra offerings at the event itself were a likely cause of the lower numbers in town.
"Every year has got quieter in Eat Streat during Crankworx even though the event itself has got bigger."
Kemplay hoped more Crankworx fans would venture into town for the weekend.
"We have our fingers crossed."
Kelvin Harford, duty manager at Sobar, also said staff had expected to be busier.
"I wonder if people were waiting for the weekend. If they are coming for the whole thing, I guess they want to see as much as they can first, and then drink more in the last few days."
He was expecting to see more people at the bar this weekend when Sobar puts on extra entertainment for Crankworx.
Crankworx highlights this weekend Today Between 10am and 3.30pm: Crankworx Rotorua Slopestyle in Memory of McGazza 9.30am-12pm: Crankworx Rotorua DownhillPro & Junior DH Practice 12:30pm-3.30pm: Crankworx Rotorua DownhillAmateur DH Practice 2pm-3pm: Women of Crankworx Autograph Session
