Sun shines on festival overflowing with family fun

Sophie Fenn (12), of Wanaka, leaps into the lake during the Wanakafest Ray White polar plunge on...
Sophie Fenn (12), of Wanaka, leaps into the lake during the Wanakafest Ray White polar plunge on Saturday. Photo by Lucy Ibbotson.
The ''Lego'' boat comes ashore during the Kahu Youth cardboard boat race with crew (from left)...
The ''Lego'' boat comes ashore during the Kahu Youth cardboard boat race with crew (from left) Ocean Alleman (12), Oliver Clements (12), Alexander Combe (12) and Nathan Beaton (11), all of Wanaka.
Blake West (7), of Wanaka, tests out his wheels in the Wanaka Wastebusters trolley derby.
Blake West (7), of Wanaka, tests out his wheels in the Wanaka Wastebusters trolley derby.
Bev Mair, of Lake Hawea, with Hugo the lamb and 4-year-old grandchildren Mikayla and Jackson...
Bev Mair, of Lake Hawea, with Hugo the lamb and 4-year-old grandchildren Mikayla and Jackson Clark, both of Wanaka, who won the best dressed section in the pet parade.

A lamb dressed as a pumpkin and a dog dressed as a hula-dancer were among the stars on show at the Wanakafest pet parade on Saturday.

The parade was part of a programme of family-friendly events which attracted hundreds of spectators to this year's scaled-back Wanakafest festival, organised by the Wanaka Community Trust.

Other annual crowd-pleasers were the rubber duck race down Bullock Creek, the polar plunge and cardboard boat race on Lake Wanaka and a trolley derby in Plantation Rd.

A carnival atmosphere in the town centre continued throughout the day with a street party, coinciding with the finish of the inaugural Red Bull Defiance adventure race.

Saturday's celebrations were held in warm, sunny conditions, in stark contrast to last year's festival, when a huge storm passed through town.

This year, large parts of former Wanakafests, including the food and wine event, Passion for Fashion show and Friday night street parade, were cut from the programme.

Organisers said price hikes in the cost of special liquor licences were a major factor behind the cuts and it had been a challenge getting enough businesses and organisations to take part in the street parade.

The festival continued with the Deans Bank 10-hour mountain bike race near Albert Town yesterday, and a community picnic will be held at Rippon Vineyard from noon today.

-lucy.ibbotson@odt.co.nz

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