Homemade goodies and games make for a successful Tarawera fair

Thousands of people of all ages turned out for the Lake Tarawera Spring Fair.

There were food stalls, homemade items, and games for people to enjoy as they braved the grey skies.

Lamees Stevens and her daughters Anjoescha, 3 and Nastassja, 6 have been to quite a few fairs in the 10 years they have lived in Tarawera, but this year they hosted their first stall.

Mrs Stevens' 400 Chinese dumplings had sold out within the first two hours, but the girls were still trying to sell their rabbit fur, bunny toys.

"It's been really, really good," Mrs Stevens said.

"I think the weather has made it not as busy this year but it has still been great."

MC Peter Cato was there to keep the day ticking over, helping with the auction and guiding people to the variety of stalls.

Image 1 of 9: Jessie-Lee Te Weehi , (left), and Caroline Te Weehi. Photo/Ben Fraser

He said the day had gone well and he was pleased to see the weather hadn't put people off.

"It's great to see so many people have brought their dogs along with them."

The longest queue of the day was to have a turn hitting a golf ball from the shore, hoping to get it in a boat on the lake.

The auction of donated goods saw people snapping up bargains like $2 for a freezer bag or $47 for a fishing rod.

All the funds raised at auction go towards the Lake Tarawera Sailing Club.

Shoppers Sam Dunn and Kate Dekker brought along their daughters Ria, 2 weeks old and Harper, 1, to enjoy the fresh air.

Miss Dekker said they had seen adverts for the fair and it looked like a lot of "cool locally-made things".

"It's great to support the locals and get behind these kind of things," Mr Dunn said.

Organiser Andrea Sheffield said they had roughly 500 visitors coming in every hour.

"The highlight has been everyone turning up, all the stall holders turning up.

"It hasn't been pouring with rain and people seem happy."

One stall holder, Melanie Peterson, had even brought her family along to help out.

"It's our first one, so it's been a real learning experience," she said.

"Seeing so many handmade things has been great. Craft seems to be dying out so it's great seeing so many different kinds here."