Bookings tight for field days

Sharon Paterson

Next year's Southern Field Days will be bigger and better than ever before.

That is the plan for the field days. Three-quarters of the sites have been booked already for next year's event which will be held from February 14-16 at Waimumu.

Field days secretary Sharon Paterson said 192 sites were available in the Agri Centre and only eight were left.

''And I still have stuff to process on my desk.''

The craft area was already fully booked.

Bookings were two months ahead of the same time last year.

''It just shows you how much confidence people have in coming to our field days,'' Mrs Paterson said.

Some new businesses would be at next year's event, as well as many which returned each year, Mrs Paterson said.

Southland community organisations and businesses would also be present.

A new addition had been the creation of a motor home park opposite the field days site.
Year on year, the field days committee received inquiries about motor home parking and the 2018 field days would have a fully self-contained place for motor homes, Mrs Paterson said.

''It will be a first-in, first-served priority and there will be a fee involved.''

The new office was also under way.

Work was being done inside the building opposite the Agri Centre, she said.

The Southern Man Competition would be back again.

Entries would be open towards the end of this year.

Other events back for 2018 would include the tractor pull, which would showcase the usual grunt of both normal and souped-up tractors, the Southern Rural Life Innovation Awards, which would be on show outside the Agri Centre and a fencing competition.
A new family picnic area had also been drawn up, Mrs Paterson said.

Given the limited space left, interested businesses should book a site now, she said.