Online ticket sales for the popular Ōpōtiki Lantern Festival have been “off-the-charts” this year, as popular headline acts including Corella, Che Fu and DJ Sirvere pull crowds from further afield.

Ōpōtiki’s isite manager Joseph Hayes says that a week before the event there has been five times as many online sales than in previous years.

“The Lantern Festival gets more popular every year and we have some amazing acts headlining and supporting this time.

“Our crowds have previously been almost entirely gate sales, but we have already sold over a thousand tickets online for the event this Saturday and last year’s online sales were just a few hundred.

“There are probably a few reasons for this – online sales make it easier and cheaper and locals have caught on to that so I am sure a lot of local whānau will just be organised and making the most of early-bird prices.

“But it might also indicate that people are coming from further afield and want to make sure they have tickets ready and organised.

“While it is likely we’ll still have gate sales on the day, if you are driving a couple of hours to get here, you probably don’t want to risk missing out.”

Joseph encourages people to make the most of the online prices as they would be a few dollars cheaper if bought in advance.

“We will have eftpos but no cash at the gate so please bring a card if you haven’t got tickets in advance. There will also be plenty of food trucks and market stalls inside, so bring a little more for a snack or meal.

“This year, we are hoping for a bit of the famous Eastern Bay of Plenty sunshine so we have set up a shaded area further back for those who want to set up deck chairs and rugs for a shaded picnic.

“It also means you won’t be blocking anyone’s view or have your picnic area turn into a dance floor when the dancing starts.”

You can find out all about the line-up of local and national artists for this classic kiwi summer festival on the website or Facebook page – Ōpōtiki Lantern Festival and www.opotikinz.co.nz