From sack racing to matching outfits with their dogs, families had a blast in Waitati this weekend.
About 1000 people showed up for the Blueskin A&P Show and country fair, in Bland Park, on Sunday, where there was no shortage of fun to be had.
Family-friendly games, music, food vendors, car boot sales, and a range of competitions, including best-dressed dog, kept both children and adults entertained.
A pooch named Oink and his owner Keziah O’Neill, of Waitati, had a particularly good day, taking first place in the dog and owner lookalike competition for small dogs.
Keziah had made a blue flannel shirt and denim pants for Oink, to match her "organic farmer" outfit.
"I’m very much a farming girl and I love the idea of having a farm with organic produce," she said.
Oink had dressed up in full denim, camouflage, and ballerina outfits for previous shows and the pair had won the competition a few years in a row, Keziah said.
"I think he just likes it because it is a chance to get out of the house."
Waikouaiti Coast Community Board member Mandy Mayhem-Bullock was in charge of a range of activities in the park including the drawcard event, "Toughest Chick in Town".
That involved participants wheeling a wheelbarrow across the park and loading it with firewood, using a waratah rammer, and "skulling" a ginger beer.
It was an "enthusiastic" day with plenty of traditional games for children, she said.
"We’ve got three-legged races, sack races, wheelbarrow races, sprinting, and tug-of-war."
Four diggers, made by Ashford Landscaping staff, also proved popular with the children.
Company owner Paul Ashford said staff were given six hours to put together a digger from scratch, using mostly recycled materials.
Whoever’s digger got the most votes from those attending the show would win a paid holiday day off work.
Board chairman Alasdair Morrison said the highlight event for him was "fire-hose football", in which the navy cadets and fire brigade faced each other.
"Everybody gets absolutely saturated — it’s an absolute blast."
