PHOTO
At least 6000 people made their way to Hokitika on Saturday for a more grassroots, family-orientated Wildfoods Festival.
The 29th event was deliberately capped at 40 stalls to turn more revenue for local stallholders and as a result, most sold out on the day, festival manager Sarah Brown said.
The official count was still being tallied but numbers were up on the 5888 who attended last year. The Westland District Council gave away 2000 tickets this year.
Mrs Brown said the day was enjoyed by a wider demographic than usual, including a lot more locals.
"There was a great vibe, people were well behaved ... A lot of our stallholders sold out and they are very happy especially our fundraisers. It's been a win-win."
The after-party back at Cass Square that night drew a crowd of about 1600.
Police were happy with the more relaxed crowd both at the day and through the night.
Sergeant Russell Glue, of Hokitika, said the crowd was one of the best-behaved for many years.
There were just five arrests made the entire weekend; one at the festival itself for theft and four on Saturday night for disorderly behaviour.
"It seemed different than in previous years -- more relaxed. It was really good."
- by Janna Sherman of the Hokitika Guardian