What kind of stalls are suited to MarchFest?

The Nelson region is increasingly gaining recognition for its ‘slow food’ cuisine. (The Slow Food movement began in Italy as a reaction against ‘fast food’. It aims to preserve the cultural cuisine within an eco-region.)
The region’s abundance of fruit and vegetables provide all the ingredients of a healthy diet and Nelson is especially famous for its seafood, whether it be freshly-caught scallops, whitebait, chowder, garlic mussels or good old Kiwi fish ‘n’ chips.

On the beverage front, there are numerous local wineries, including some organic vineyards. Local berries provide the raw material for natural juices, real fruit ice cream, smoothies and slushies, and Nelson is also the espresso capital of New Zealand!

We hope that gives a flavour of the kind of stalls we are after! It goes without saying that food products high in sugar, salt, preservatives and food colouring are not encouraged. We want to highlight local food produce and local products and preference will be given to local vendors wherever possible.

Audience

To protect the integrity, safety and ambience of the event, MarchFest is limiting ticket sales to a maximum of 2,000 adults. (Children under 18 do not need tickets if accompanied by a parent or guardian). We aim to provide festival goers with a wide range of cuisine, offering affordable products of a high standard.

The cost

There will be approximately 14 stalls at Marchfest 2010. Vendors are encouraged to provide their own tent/gazebo etc to cope with inclement weather. The standard stall size is 3m wide and 3m deep but other sizes can be accommodated if required (an extra charge will be levied).

All 3m by 3m stalls cost $150+GST. Power is an extra $10 per day. A trestle table is provided free, if required.

Stalls are booked on a ‘first come-first served’ basis. MarchFest reserves the right to decide the ultimate placement of stalls and to reject applications that do not appear to fit with our event.  All stalls receive two free event passes which gives access to all event facilities, but this does not include a souvenir glass. There are plastic glasses at the bar for stallholders. Souvenir glasses can be ordered for a small extra charge (see application form).

PLEASE NOTE, all stand fees are payable in advance and no space is confirmed until payment is received. Should you wish to cancel, your fee is refundable minus a $75 cancellation fee.

Sustainability

MarchFest Sustainability Policy

By its very nature, the MarchFest event encourages people to drink locally produced beers, wines, ciders, juices and food, which automatically reduces our carbon footprint. By including a souvenir glass for the ticket price we avoid the use of disposable vessels and the energy resources needed for washing glasses. We also encourage stallholders to provide recycled or recyclable materials and festivalgoers to arrive and depart by foot, bicycle, bus, train or taxi.

ZERO WASTE and Rubbish

Stallholders are responsible for the removal of rubbish from their stall and the site. MarchFest is working towards a Zero Waste Policy whereby all food and drink products sold must be served in either recyclable, reusable or biodegradable products.

This year, we will be insisting that stallholders make a firm declaration that their food/drink containers and other packaging is 100% recyclable or made of 100% recycled materials.

Banned are aluminium foil wrap, plastic plates and cutlery, polystyrene cups and clamshell containers, Tetra Pak (waxy cardboard fruit juice containers) and anything non-recyclable.

Encouraged are aluminum cans, steel/ tin cans, PET plastic containers (plastic with the no.1 recycling symbol), HDPE plastic containers (plastic with the no. 2 recycling symbol), paper, cardboard, egg cartons and trays, cardboard milk containers and plant-based PLA cutlery, containers etc.

Need help with sustainability issues?

A useful leaflet on some of the different types of compostable and biodegradable disposable catering utensils currently available is available from NCC here.

You can download a report on recyclable utensils here.

For more information contact the NCC Sustainability Coordinator on 03 546 0339.

If you are not already offering sustainable packaging/serving materials and need help please get in contact and we can point you towards an approved supplier such as Eco-Express

Very soon, we will be updating the MarchFest website to include application forms for vendors and stallholders. To make sure you get all MarchFest festival alerts please email us now to be added to our stallholder email circulation list.