1269 days ago

Student-led beer festival attracts thousands, but only a few hundred Scarfies

Jake Kenny Reporter from Community News

Turns out students are good at organising a beer festival.

Now in its eighth year, this weekend’s Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival should see 12,000 people pour through the gates of Forsyth Barr Stadium to sup on ale and cider and enjoy music from the likes of Don McGlashan and Ladi6.

Perhaps unusually for Dunedin, most of those beer lovers will not be students.

The festival is run by the Otago University and Students’ Association (OUSA), which launched it eight years ago on the concrete pad at Forsyth Barr as rain, wind and hail struck the roof.

“In those first couple of years, people were pretty nervous,'’ Jason Schroeder, OUSA’s events and venues operations manager admits.

That trepidation wasn’t entirely unfounded, with students’ alcohol-fuelled incidents attracting negative headlines.

Schroeder said for many it was difficult to understand why OUSA would put on a beer festival, which crucially was not aimed at students.

But word soon spread about the event, and by the next year the festival had encroached to a part of the grass, and then the year after reached the halfway line.

Within four years it covered the entire grass surface, and in recent years has become a two-day event, Friday and Saturday, with the former aimed at working professionals, Schroeder said.

Image
More messages from your neighbours
15 hours ago

Get painting with Resene plant-based paints!

Resene

Plant-based paints are made just like normal paint but everything in the tin comes from plants and minerals.

Plus they’re Eco Choice approved with low odour and easy water clean-up, so you can paint or stain your place with ease.

Available from Resene ColorShops.
Find out more

Image
1 day ago

Potted colour

The Team from Resene ColorShop Dunedin

Express yourself with this artistic dip-dye paint effect using Resene paints. Find out how to create your own with these easy step by step instructions.

Image
2 days ago

Turn downsizing stress into strength

Yvette Williams Retirement Village

Downsizing can open the door to a new stage of your life that is rich in opportunity. However, it can be a daunting prospect. If you are embarking on a new chapter of life, the thought of shedding familiar possessions can feel even more stressful. This can be true even if the life changes are a good thing, such as a move to somewhere you will love to live.

Once you understand why you have this feeling, you can reframe it as creating a new environment that will support your present life while reminding you of your best experiences.

Click read more for the full article.

Image