Hokitika is prepared for an influx of about 10,000 people keen to sample wacky wild foods from eyeballs and broken hearts to snails and stomach-churning "mountain oysters".

The 24th Wildfoods Festival, a popular drawcard for Cantabrians, starts tomorrow at 10.15am.

This year's 63 stalls promise to tempt a wide range of appetites, from the uber-brave to the more traditional.

Christchurch-based chef Phillip Kraal will give three 30-minute theatrical cooking displays to pass on a few top tips during the day.

Former Master Chef contestant Jax Hamilton is also running her first stall at the annual festival, Jax Jerk Station, offering her Caribbean-style take on wild food.

But it's not all about food.

Zany costumes have become de rigueur, like a small-scale Wellington's Rugby Sevens, and $1000 is up for grabs for the best dressed.

The festival's entertainment kicks off tonight and tomorrow morning there will be an aerobatics display by the Royal New Zealand Air Force's Red Checkers aerobatics team.

Street markets will also run tonight, tomorrow and Sunday morning.

West Coast MP Damien O'Connor will officially open the festival in Cass Sq.

West Coast police have called for festival-goers to act responsibly, warning them to expect random breath testing to catch drink drivers.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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