Martinborough Fair

The Martinborough Fair is held on the first Saturday of February and March each year. Martinborough is a cute little wine growing town in South Wairarapa, about an hour north-east of Wellington. The town centre is set out in the shape of a union jack and is named after an Irish immigrant who, in the 1800s, purchased a large sheep station and subdivided it into enough plots to make a town. Streets are named after various places he travelled to on the way to New Zealand; I always find it hilarious to drive up New York Street in such a tiny town.

We usually go to the Main St Deli in Greytown for brunch, or at least a coffee, on the way. It makes for a good day out and means that you can miss the worst of the traffic. (Well, only just.)

Anyway, the fair is a huge event, bringing thousands of people and 450+ stallholders to this little town. After you've been once or twice, it's easy to become familiar with the positioning of each stall, and they remain largely the same from year to year. I knew exactly what I was after today and quickly found most of it: fair fudge (cos you can't go to a fair without buying homemade fudge), a straw hat, a merino wrap for my friend who is about to have her second baby, and some earrings (I always buy a pair of earrings somewhere). I didn't manage to find anything for my nephew's first birthday next weekend, so I guess that means another shopping trip. I picked up a lovely printed wooden block of two daffodils on a blue background for just $5 - gorgeous. I also found some relatively cheap sheepskin slippers, even though it is sooooo not the right weather to be trying them on. (It was scorching hot in Martinborough, with just the tiniest breeze.)

Hmm, I can't believe I went out of town on an incredibly hot day and bought sheepskin slippers. Oh well, we had a great day and it's another thing done that I wanted to do: #51 - Go to the Martinborough Fair.