Fun, flora and fundraising at Quarryfest

All roads lead to Quarryfest at the Te Puna Quarry Park on Sunday, November 11.

Plants, food, music and fundraising will go hand-in-hand at Te Puna Quarry Park's annual Quarryfest this weekend.

The festival – on Sunday, November 11, from 10am-4pm – is a must-do on the local events calendar, and features entertainment, stalls, art and garden walks.

The park was a rock quarry until 1979. Since 1996, the Te Puna Quarry Park Society has planted and developed it into a local treasure, including plants and flowers of botanical interest as well as a sculpture collection.

Funds raised at Quarryfest are used for the upkeep and further development of the park.

Bethlehem Te Puna Lions Club runs the event on behalf of the Quarry Park Society, and raised $7000 last year ­– almost double the amount raised the previous year.

'We had perfect weather, so we're hoping for that again this year,” says spokesman Ian Calvert.

Entertainment is spread over three sites ­– the amphitheatre, Carters Pavilion and the Dragon Lawn – and this year includes the Wai Taiko Drummers, kapa haka, singers Peter Cleaver and Jim Wood, the Acoustic Music Club, the Kaimai Express Bluegrass Band, St Mary's Jump Jammers and Bay of Plenty Pipes and Drums.

There will be more than 100 stalls this year, including work from local artists and the Quarry Park Society's annual plant sale.

Quarryfest is at 108 Te Puna Quarry Road. Entry is $4 for adults and children 12-years and under attend free. A free shuttle bus will run visitors from the car park at the bottom of the road to the quarry park.

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