Editorial: Region on show for summer | Wairarapa Opinion | Local Voices from Wairarapa, New Zealand

Just looking at the calendar for February is exhausting.

It's jam-packed with events: Summer Shakespeare, the A&P Show, winery concerts and music festivals, races and jetboating.

It's barely a week into the month, and we've already had a slew of drawcard events, including Martinborough Fair, the MG Car Club rally, and the Summer Festival races today.

Still to come next weekend is jetsprints at Tauherenikau and pre-season Super 15 rugby at Mangatainoka.

How anyone will end the month with any money left in their pocket I'm not sure.

But it's fantastic to have such a wealth of events going on in our own backyard - not just because they draw visitors and money into our local economy, but so that we get to enjoy them ourselves.

I'm particularly looking forward to Summer Shakespeare - if the 1920s, seaside-resort themed costumes are as good as the posters suggest, it will be a feast for the eyes.

Also locked in my diary is the Classic Hits Winery Tour with The Mutton Birds and Avalanche City at Alana Estate Winery in Martinborough on February 25.

There has been a slightly tongue-in-cheek petition circulating advocating for another public holiday later in summer, to make up for the rubbish weather we've had so far over the holiday season.

But Wairarapa seems to have it right in terms of when all the summer action happens - in February and March, when the weather is traditionally more settled, warmer and drier than in December and January.

Let's face it, if you're smart, this is when you'd take your summer holiday. Kids are back at school, the roads are quieter, and there's no shortage of great things to do. In fact, you're spoiled for choice.

The weather for this weekend was near perfect for selling our Wairarapa lifestyle to those thousands of visitors: let's hope it holds for the many fantastic February treats to come.