Queenstown Primary School is preparing for its biggest fundraiser of the year when it will welcome hundreds of families and bargain hunters to the free school fair on Saturday.
A total of 38 stalls of food, bric-a-brac and activities will open for business, rain or shine, on the school grounds on Robins Rd at 10am, running till 2pm.
About $28,000 in prizes has been given by Queenstown individuals and businesses for the silent auction, raffles and chocolate wheel, including a prize package of a helicopter flight and a ''Trust the Chef'' menu for two at Amisfield Winery.
The Rotary Club of Queenstown will operate the sausage sizzle, for the 12th time this year.
There will be pony rides, ''Bikes 4 Fun'', toffee apples, candy floss, a bouncy castle, books and clothes, homemade baking and sweets, face-painting, fire-engine and police-car rides and more.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council supports the fair through its event funding programme.
Parent Rosie Thompson, on behalf of Queenstown Primary School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), said the fair plays a huge part in providing funds for items not covered by the Ministry of Education at the decile 10 school.
About $34,000 was raised last year and put into a PTA fund for teaching staff, who must ask the principal to tap into funding.
''It's a great day for young and old and if you're setting up a flat, there's a lot of bric-a-brac in the white elephant stall,'' Mrs Thompson said.
