24/03/2026
So sad the hard call had to be made . It takes a huge amount of work to put these things together, we will still be there for the comp rain or shine !
Morena koutou katoa. We are incredibly sad to advise that we have made the hard decision to
cancel Fired Up Barbecue Festival 2026 on Saturday.
The predicted weather bomb was upgraded to a warning yesterday, with potentially up to
250mm of rain and high winds.
This has severely impacted our ability to set up anything in advance. An event of this scale
needs 2 – 3 days of building fences, marquees and laying out power etc. It is possibly hazardous
for crew and suppliers to put in any of these elements and depending on what the weather does,
we are going to really struggle to get it set up in time.
We have looked at multiple scenarios and it is all really difficult to predict. It may be nice on
Saturday, but the ground will be sodden. We had secured bigger marquees and were working
through how we could make this happen.
However, sales have virtually stopped while people wait to see what the weather does. We
totally understand people’s hesitancy, but we cannot plan effectively for the correct number of
toilets, staff and food volumes. We know that many of you are struggling with higher costs and
fuel prices, this impacts our costs as well as ticket sales. We had seen a decrease in bookings
from outside the region and Auckland compared to last year as we all tighten our belts. If this
bad weather causes flooding or slips, it will further impact sales.
Some good news…the Tai Tokerau Low & Slow Barbecue Competition can still continue on
site. It will remain free of charge to explore and all of our BBQ EXPO exhibitors will set up in this
area. We will also ensure there is some great BBQ food available to purchase. If you are heading
to the The Old Packhouse Kerikeri Market on Saturday, wander over and check out the pitmasters at work!
The Jordan Luck Band and Ke lo Ke were amped to be coming up and have both agreed to come
up later in the year for us…we are working on planning that alternative date.
Can we extend a huge thankyou to everyone involved in creating this event and the support in
making this decision. We all strive to put on the best experiences for this community, and they
are hurting as well as us with lost revenue. The venue, artists, local crew, sound and lighting,
marquees, fencing, food vendors, security, generators, electricians, accommodation providers,
transport, bar staff, waste management, toilets, first aid providers…the list goes on.
🎟️ All tickets will be fully refunded at point of purchase. If you bought online at Eventfinda NZ, this will happen automatically and you don’t need to do anything. If you purchased at Barbecue BOI
please go see Ken or Donna for your refund.
There are some great other events on Saturday so please support them if you can. Check out The Beth’s at the Turner Centre or the Mangonui Waterfront Festival ❤️
🙏Thank you for your understanding and we hope to see you at Tai Tokerau Low and Slow this
Saturday and at the rescheduled event later in the year. Nga mihi nui, The Fired Up Team 😢
