The ‘‘intimate’’ community vibe at Ripe is what keeps people coming back each year, the wine and food festival director says.
Ripe festival director Nathan White said the event had turned into a well-known Wānaka fixture.
The festival, which started in 2021, was celebrating its fifth year and Mr White said he expected about 4000 people to attend.
‘‘Each year we sell out at 4000.
‘‘It has grown from the first year, which was about 2000.
‘‘There are still tickets available but we are on track to sell out,’’ he said.
Now held at Glendhu Station, Mr White said he believed people kept coming back due to the relaxed feel.
‘‘We created quite an intimate feel with this wine and food festival, which is why we limit the numbers.
‘‘People just love the sort of relaxed feel of it.
‘‘We want people to feel comfortable and enjoy themselves with a fun day out and enjoying the scenery,’’ he said.
‘‘I feel like it’s all under control.
‘‘Every year we improve the event to make it slightly better and slightly better again.
‘‘We’ve got a good base system going where we have a lot of contractors, suppliers and staff who are with us each year,’’ he said.
Mr White said Sir Dave Dobbyn was the perfect act to headline this year’s festival.
‘‘Each year I try to find artists who cover a wide demographic.
‘‘We have a fan base that goes from young 20s to 60, 70-plus, and it’s quite hard to find musicians that cover that range.
‘‘I think Sir Dave Dobbyn is probably as close as we’ll get to covering that whole demographic,’’ Mr White said.
Joining Sir Dave for this year’s musical line-up is Wānaka artist Emmelia Stevenson.
‘‘I’m just stoked to be a part of it,’’ Stevenson said.
‘‘I’ll be performing for a couple of hours near the entrance and I’m excited to bring high energy, I just love singing,’’ she said.
New and returning additions to this year’s festival include celebrity chef demonstrations, masterclass free wine tasting, a guided wine tour and an official after party.