Two-year-old Graycen Kell, of Stirling, lets fly with an
egg from the Balclutha Bridge on Saturday as rafts in the
Big River Festival pass below. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.
The weather in Balclutha on Saturday cleared long enough
to make sure the only people who got wet at The Big River
Festival were the competitors in the Big River Raft Race.
Big River Festival chairwoman Donna Carline said in light of
the weather and other events in the district, it was great to
see people supporting the festival and enjoying themselves.
There were 30 entries in the raft race, which Ms Carline said
was about the same number as last year.
"It was pleasing to see the innovation people put into their
rafts," she said.
The long tradition of pelting the rafters with eggs and flour
bombs as they passed under the bridge was also maintained.
Entertainment off the water included Gold Guitar winners the
Heartleys, golf and activities for children.
"The Heartleys have been huge hits with the crowd," Ms
Carline said.
"Someone slotted a hole in one in the golf. It hit the back
board on the pontoon and rolled into the hole."
The winner received $500.
"There was a bouncy castle, a water slide, face painting and
balloon sculpting for the kids, and a lot of people were
interested in the photos."
To mark the 75th anniversary of the Balclutha Bridge opening,
the South Otago Museum staged an exhibition of historic
photographs from the days the bridge was under construction
and of the official opening ceremony.
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