Hosting, catering and alcohol
Learn about providing food and beverages on your site.
As a Fieldays® Exhibitor, you might want to host guests on your site, or provide food and drink options for your staff. Please read the below information to ensure you understand the criteria around this and for information on where you can access these services.
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Form deadline
| SITE ADD-ONS – Hosting, Catering, Barista & Alcohol Services | Deadline 2 May 2025 |
Preferred suppliers
- Preferred caterer - Montana Food & Events
- Preferred caterer - Kerr & Ladbrook
Hosting
All exhibitors that intend to provide food and/or beverages supplied by an external party on their site in any form (EG: Event Hosting, staff meals, visitor meals, barista services) must complete the SITE ADD-ONS – Hosting, Catering, Barista & Alcohol Services form.
Hosting: defined as providing a catered food and/or beverage service to staff, customers and/or visitors
In-event functions: defined as an Exhibitor's event held inside public gate opening hours
Before and/or after-hours functions: defined as an Exhibitor's event held outside of public gate opening hours
Caterer: a party external to your own company supplying you with catered food and/or beverage on your site
Barista: a party external to your own company supplying or making barista-made coffee on your site
Caterers Alcohol Licence: The On-licences endorsed under s38 – Caterers is applied for and approved by Waipa District Council Licensing for the sale and service of alcohol by caterers
Exhibitors are encouraged to employ one of the Fieldays Preferred Caterers who have kitchens onsite and already hold a Caterers Alcohol Licence (Montana Food & Events, Kerr & Ladbrook), however, alternate catering/barista companies may be employed.
If you chose not to use one of the Fieldays Preferred Caterers for your hosting requirements, the following applies:
Barista Access Pass - $275 +GST
- 8x 1-day Tickets
- Access from 5:30am – 7:30pm
Additional tickets can be purchased as required
Caterer Access Pass - $975 +GST
- 8x 1-Day Tickets
- Access from 5:30am – 7:30pm
- 1x Caterers Access Vehicle Pass
Additional tickets can be purchased as required
Caterer & Barista Access Package - $1200 +GST
- 12x 1-Day Tickets for the Caterer
- Access from 5:30am – 7:30pm
- 8x 1 -Day Tickets for the Barista
- 1x Caterers Access Vehicle Pass
Additional tickets can be purchased as required
Additional Caterer Add-on - $440 +GST
No ticket or vehicle pass inclusions
When an exhibitor is using more than one caterer for their site. The caterer will be responsible for ordering their tickets and vehicle passes by emailing ticketing@fieldays.co.nz
In all instances:
- ‘Caterer/Barista Tickets’ and ‘Caterer Access Vehicle (CAV)’ Passes allow site access from 5:30am to 8pm Wednesday to Saturday
- Exhibitors employing a Caterer are Barista (preferred or not) will be provided with 8 x Clear plastic bags to sort waste. These will be available for collection from the Exhibitor Services Centre from Monday 9 June.
- You are not able to provide your Exhibitor Tickets or Vehicle Passes to Catering or Barista staff.
- The Catering/Barista Service Fees do not apply if you are utilising one of the Fieldays Preferred Suppliers. These caterers have their own tickets and vehicle passes already allocated to them.
- The Catering/Barista Service Fees are per exhibitor, regardless of the number of sites the supplier is servicing. These are invoiced to the Exhibitor, not the supplier.
In addition to in-event functions, Exhibitors may apply to host a before or after- hours function on their site. Functions may take place Wednesday – Friday morning or evening and Saturday morning only.
We recommend for functions with visitors (General Admission or Pay-If-Used tickets), the start time should be during public gate times after 8am and before 4:30pm. Otherwise, all approved after-hours functions must be by invitation only and an attendance list provided to The Society ahead of the event to ensure appropriate ticket access is applied.
Evening functions
To ensure a safe and seamless experience for all Exhibitors and their guests, for evening functions (Wed-Fri):
- You must provide an exit plan of how and when your guests will leave the site e.g: Bus or shuttle to take attendees back to their cars
- You must engage the Society’s Security to provide services for the duration of the event
- You must provide a plan for proximity to toilets, and may be required to bring in additional portaloos.
- Your site must have adequate lighting to ensure safety of patrons
- The Service of alcohol (if applicable) must cease promptly at 7:30pm at the latest.
- Everyone (visitors, guests and caterers) must be offsite by 8pm.
Only applies to Exhibitors who have gained approval via the ‘SITE ADD-ONS – Hosting, Catering, Barista & Alcohol Services’ form.
| Attendees | Event Hours (Wed-Fri) | After Hours (Wed - Fri) | Event Hours (Sat) | After Hours (Sat) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff (Exhibitor Ticket) | 06:00am* - 05:00pm | 4:30pm - 08:00pm | 06:00am - 04:00pm | N/A |
| Visitors (General Admission or Pay-if-Used Ticket) | 08:00am* - 05:00pm | 4:30pm - 08:00pm | 08:00am - 04:00pm | N/A |
* No alcohol service before 11am
An alternate option for after-hours refreshments for on-site staff
After closing and securing your site at 5pm we encourage your staff to refuel at the Good George Bar & Eatery where food and beverages are available for purchase from 5:00pm-7:00pm Wednesday to Friday.
Function space hire
Looking for a private space to host meetings, presentations or networking events during Fieldays?
A limited number of function spaces are available exclusively for Exhibitors, ranging from 4-person meeting rooms to a spacious 200-person function venue.
Enjoy seamless event planning with set-up and basic AV included, plus exceptional catering provided by our preferred supplier, Montana Food & Events. Secure your space now and elevate your Fieldays experience.
Complimentary food/beverages
You may not sell food or beverages at Fieldays unless you are:
- A registered Food Vendor selling ready-to-eat food (i.e. site in a food court).
- A Rural Living Marquee or Fieldays® The Pantry Exhibitor whose application included approved pre-packages food/beverage items.
If you want to offer Fieldays visitors complimentary food or beverages that are not samples of your own product (e.g. muffins, sausages, coffee, sandwiches etc.), this must not overtly promote the supplier of the food/beverage and must be declared in your Site Plan & Hazard Identification/Management form. If your food or beverage is being provided by an external company (eg: caterer) you must complete the Hosting, Catering, Barista & Alcohol Services form.
If your products include food or beverages as your core business, you may offer free samples of these. You do not need to apply to Fieldays for approval unless the beverages include alcohol.
Food safety is a priority for all food samples and complimentary foods. To ensure you meet the requirements of the Food Safety Act 2014, please refer to www.health.govt.nz.
Alcohol management
All exhibitors, contractors and attendees are prohibited from:
- Bringing your own alcohol to Fieldays
- Consuming alcohol anywhere within the Fieldays site, except for Society-approved (and specially licensed) Client Hosting areas, and the Good George Bars.
Waipa District Council, Te Whatu Ora Waikato, NZ Police and Fieldays duty managers will monitor Exhibitor sites to ensure compliance. Non-compliance with our alcohol license will result in exclusion as a future Exhibitor.
Useful links: https://eservices.waipadc.govt.nz/online-services/new/on-off-site-special-licence/step/1
Exhibitors wishing to provide alcohol samples or sales for off-site consumption can only exhibit in The Pantry and must disclose your intention to do so in your site application form.
Only exhibitors who have been approved by Fieldays to Exhibit Alcohol within The Pantry will be able to offer alcohol samples and/or sales on their site. Those exhibitors must:
Apply to Waipa District Council for a special licence by 4 April 2025
Upload a signed copy of the Fieldays Alcohol Management Information for Exhibitors 2025 document to the Exhibitor portal by 4 April 2025. This is a firm deadline due to our overarching licence deadlines.
Ensure that all staff working at the event are aware of, and adhere to, the requirements stipulated in the Fieldays Alcohol Management Information for Exhibitors 2025 document
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