Poets, town criers, and musicians are set to light up the Maniototo next weekend.
Held over two days, the annual Bards, Ballads, and Bulldust Festival will showcase performances by New Zealand musicians, poets, playwrights, and authors.
The festival celebrates the uniqueness and history of the area, and will be hosted in three different pubs, Maniototo Promotions secretary Amie Pont said.
It was a ''performing pub crawl'' where people can enjoy a wine by the open fire and have a lovely weekend of free entertainment, she said.
Performers would rotate around the Oturehua Railway Hotel, Waipiata Country Hotel, and the Ancient Briton in Naseby.
Patrons could follow performers or just wait for the next ones.
An extensive campaign to promote the festival around the country generated interest and accommodation bookings, she said.
The focus of the festival is on the region and getting people to look around, as well as being an opportunity to celebrate New Zealand Music Month.
The festival was unique in New Zealand, Ms Pont said. Performers would include musicians Phil Garland, Roger Lusby and Alice Hore, as well as Central Otago town crier Paddy-Ann Pemberton, poet Jillian Sullivan, as well as performer Graham Wardrop, ''New Zealand's finest finger-style guitarist''.
The festival had been run for a decade before it was taken over by Maniototo Promotions two years ago.
