As summer heats up, all roads lead to Kurow.
The population of the small Waitaki Valley town is already swelling as caravans are installed and tents are erected at wilderness camping areas and holiday home owners make trips to the lakes just west of Kurow.
The annual fishing contest starts today and continues until January 3, with daily weigh-ins at Kurow Autos.
December 30 is devoted to the Kurow Races, with racing action, free kids entertainment, live music, but in a break from recent tradition, Kurow Festival Market Day will not be held on race day this year - it will be held on New Year's Day.
One of the organisers of the event, Jon Brocas, said planning for the annual market, which began in 1988, had taken months.
Local band The Grizzlies would be the entertainment on the main stage, while New Zealand singer-songwriter-instrumentalist Red McKelvie would perform.
Buskers could register free and the market day would be an opportunity for young musicians to ‘‘get out there and show their stuff''.
For the past four years, the town's main street had been closed for the event, as local policeman Craig Bennett worked with authorities to co-ordinate the closure of the stretch of State Highway 83.
‘‘Craig is spectacular ... every year he organises that, gets all of the permissions, organises Downers to loan us their road works [equipment] - he's just great,'' Mr Brocas said.
The organising committee has allowed space for more than 58 stalls on the street and already had about 40 registered to sell everything from clothes and furniture to fresh produce and pies.
Crowd numbers usually averaged about 5000 and organisers expect it to be as popular as ever on New Year's Day.
‘‘There's no reason why it shouldn't, it's that time of year; everybody is up there around the lakes,'' he said.
The committee kept stallholder fees to a minimum each year, seeking only to break even from the event, Mr Brocas said.
‘‘We're not out to make money,'' he said.‘‘Its local community people doing something with their community.''
In Omarama, 50km from Kurow up the Waitaki Valley, the annual Omarama Rodeo on Monday will also be a drawcard over the festive season.
Omarama Rodeo Club president Jamie Brice said it was shaping up to be another great day out.‘‘Things are looking really good. Our entries are up 30 from last year,'' Mr Brice said.
Because of the extra entries this year, which had come from all over the country, time events will start at 9am, and the main events will be held in the afternoon.
