‘‘The atmosphere is fantastic and it's a great day out,'' Stephanie Withnell, of Alexandra, said.
That view seemed to be the consensus of the patrons spoken to by the Otago Daily Times. Organised by Promote Alexandra, the event on Saturday was in its third year, and this was the crunch year, organiser Martin McPherson said.
‘‘If we hadn't cracked it this year, that would've been it, really. Luckily, we had good numbers through this time - the gate-takings told us about 550 attended, and the feedback from patrons and stallholders was very positive. They said it had a good vibe.''
The date seemed to work well, so it would remain a fixture on Waitangi Day or around that time, Mr McPherson said.
‘‘Other years we've held it just after Christmas and New Year, but there's too much competition from other events then. This seems a good fit so we'll stick with this date.''
Six Central Otago breweries took part and more breweries were being established in the region so the event was likely to keep growing, Mr McPherson said.
Stallholder Mat Bell, of Manuherekia Brewery, and the festival was a good chance for brewery owners to mingle with the crowd and talk to them about the beer.
‘‘Everyone's becoming more aware of craft beers and of the different flavours and they're becoming more educated about it. It's great to be able to have a sample of Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes district craft beers all in one spot,'' Mr Bell said.
