Fieldays opening ceremony celebrates 45 years
Cabinet minister Nathan Guy and Fieldays President Lloyd Downing shared a pair of giant red scissors as they cut the ribbon to officially open the 45th Fieldays yesterday.
Cabinet minister Nathan Guy and Fieldays President Lloyd Downing shared a pair of giant red scissors as they cut the ribbon to officially open the 45th Fieldays yesterday.
When Guy, the Minister of Primary Industries, first stood on the opening stage a voice from the crowd broke the silence shouting,
“Mr Guy, what are you going to do about ACC mate?” to which Guy swiftly moved on to welcome the crowd to the 45th Fieldays.
Guy noted his experience as a teenager helping out at the tractor pull many years ago, before moving on to encourage farmers to band together to achieve this year’s Fieldays theme: “Getting down to business in the global economy.”
He reported that New Zealand’s exports to around 200 countries and feeds four million people each year, adding,
“We’ve set a target to double that by 2045”.
“We’re forecast to grow around seven per cent each year for the next four years.”
Following the speech Fieldays President Lloyd Downing and vice-president Warrick Roberts raised the Fieldays flag while an accompanying bagpipe band played the happy birthday song. Police raised the New Zealand flag next to it while the national anthem played. The crowd rose as the flag did for the national anthem.
“I’ve never heard happy birthday or the national anthem on the bagpipes before!” one woman noted.
As the ribbon was cut at the end of the ceremony President Downing said,
“I’d now like to declare the forty fifth New Zealand Fieldays as open.”
Streamers then burst out at the crowed as children excitedly watched the dozens of colourful helium balloons released from behind the stage as they floated into the sky.
