Way back in 1975 a bunch of locals decided that the start of winter was a great excuse to have a party. They organised races on the mountain and in town, lollies for the kids, beers for the grown-ups, a concert or two and a town-wide ball, all of which made the Festival a great success. News spread quickly and the next year people came from further afield to join the festivities.

Since then the Festival has evolved into New Zealand's biggest winter party and some say the biggest winter party in the Southern Hemisphere! It's a 10 day celebration of Queenstown's unique culture and community with street parties, fireworks, international and local acts, jazz, comedy,a Mardi Gras, family fun, and plenty of Mountain Mayhem.

Town will be a-buzz with around 45,000 people celebrating the arrival of winter in true Queenstown style.

WINTER STARTS HERE and we're proud of it! BOOK ACCOMMODATION NOW!!

Dates for the 2013 Festival have just been confirmed: 21st - 30th June 2013

http://www.winterfestival.co.nz/home/festival/

21/06/2013
American Express Opening Party & Fireworks

Queenstown is proud to welcome New Zealand music legend Dave Dobbyn, here to help us celebrate the start of winter!

Hosted by the hilarious Paul Ego and Urzila Carlson and supported by some amazing local talent, it’s a magical evening with the annual fireworks display lighting up our little Slice of Heaven, revealing big grins under bobbled hats.

Be sure to wrap up warm, grab some hearty tucker from our food stalls and sing-along to all your favourite Dave Dobbyn classics!

Fireworks time: 7pm

http://www.winterfestival.co.nz

22/06/2013
American Express Festival Street Parade

Come on down to watch the streets of Queenstown come alive with a colourful parade of floats, festivity and dancers!

Come on down to watch the streets of Queenstown come alive with a colourful parade of floats, festivity and dancers! Queenstown businesses, community groups, super heroes and Festival sponsors dedicate a huge amount of time and energy to create this awesome spectacle so bring the whole family down to join the crowd and have some fun!

http://www.winterfestival.co.nz

23/06/2013
Coronet Peak Skin to the Summit

Drag yourself out of bed after Saturday's celebrations for an amazing dawn experience.

Drag yourself out of bed after Saturday's celebrations for an amazing dawn experience. Headlamps and determination are essential if you want to get stuck in to this fun and challenging event, which starts from the Coronet Peak Base Building.

Give it a shot and be rewarded for your efforts with a glorious sunrise and generous prizes. This is a true adventure for early risers!

$15 includes a free coffee - FREE to watch

http://www.winterfestival.co.nz/programme/sunday-june-23th/coronet-peak-skin-to-the-summit/
http://www.winterfestival.co.nz

23/06/2013
MORE FM Day on the Bay

Combine icy cold weather, freezing cold waters, wacky events and even wackier competitors and you've got the legendary MoreFM Day on the Bay.

Combine icy cold weather, freezing cold waters, wacky events and even wackier competitors and you've got the legendary MoreFM Day on the Bay. After the More FM Birdman sets the scene, the day continues with crowd-pleasing favourites like the Vincent Holdings Jet Sprints, Quiksilver Paddle Board Race, Mophie Splash and Dash and the Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Undy500.

http://www.winterfestival.co.nz

23/06/2013
MORE FM Birdman

Don’t worry – the Festival favourite is back!!! Wet, wild and totally out of control, the MoreFM Birdman kicks off this year’s MoreFM Day on the Bay!

Don’t worry – the Festival favourite is back!!! Wet, wild and totally out of control, the MoreFM Birdman kicks off this year’s MoreFM Day on the Bay! Watch as hilariously dressed thrill-seekers launch themselves off Queenstown Wharf into the freezing cold waters of Lake Wakatipu – all in the name of fun! This event is one of Festival’s longest standing events and is 100% definitely not to be missed!

http://www.winterfestival.co.nz

26/06/2013
Downtown Day

Join in the amused and bemused crowds for the year’s best lunch break!

Join in the amused and bemused crowds for the year’s best lunch break! Watch the tastiest twist on the good old egg and spoon race you’ve ever seen - the Cup & Cake Challenge – and laugh as the QRC Hospitality Race sees teams from Queenstown’s top hotels compete to be crowned the ‘Hosts with the Most’.

But there’s (thankfully) only one MoreFM Drag Race, putting the ‘Queen’ in Queenstown for the past two decades. ‘Ladies’ compete in this invitation-only, fiercely competitive, high-speed dash around Earnslaw Park. Pick your favourite and cheer as these usually reserved local gentlemen fight it out in a very risqué obstacle course while dressed in high heels, skirts of questionable length and wild hair and make-up by Hush Spa.

http://www.winterfestival.co.nz

29/06/2013
Thriller in the Chiller

A ‘must see’ event on the Festival programme, Queenstown’s biggest night of Charity Boxing is back.

The search has already begun for contenders looking to take part in one of the Festival’s signature events – Mountain Scene’s Thriller in the Chiller. Now in its 4th year and always a sell-out, the Thriller will once again see local men and women from all walks of life take to the ring on June 29th at the Queenstown Events Centre to put their chins on the line for charity.

http://premier.ticketek.co.nz/shows/Show.aspx?sh=THRILLER13
http://www.winterfestival.co.nz

29/06/2013
Mountain Mayhem

day of ski field fun and crazy antics for all the family, expect the unexpected up at Coronet Peak!

Be part of the action or watch in wonder as contestants take on some hard and fast courses in events like the Auckland Airport Suitcase Race, Jelly Belly Musical Chairs, a MetService Snow Scramble and the American Express Dash for Cash. Don’t be shy – there are awesome prizes to be won - so get involved!

http://www.winterfestival.co.nz

01/07/2013 - 30/09/2013
Ski Season 2013

Coronet Peak and The Remarkables are open for 2013 Winter Season.

http://www.nzski.com/

03/08/2013
Peak to Peak

The South Island’s biggest winter multisport event in its eighteenth year attracts a strong field of multisport competitors from around the South Island.

Course: The course covers 44kms across the Wakatipu Basin. Ski, Mountain bike, paddle, run, road bike. Remarkables to Coronet Peak.

Divisions: Individuals - Men, Women, Veteran Teams - Open, Women, Mixed, Business House, Veteran, School

Entry fee
Individual: $60.00 ($70 entry on the day)
Team: $120.00 ($140 entry on the day). All costs on this web site are in New Zealand dollars.
Confirmation of entry and a full briefing sheet will be sent on to email address only.

http://www.southerntraverse.com/Peak2Peak
http://www.southerntraverse.com/OnlineEntry

12/08/2013 - 25/08/2013
Winter Games 2013

100% Pure New Zealand Winter Games is the ultimate testing ground where elite athletes can experiment and explore performance limits against world-class competition.

Winter Games NZ 2013 will run over 14 days from 12-25 August. The programme will include FIS World Cup events in Snowboard Slopestyle, Snowboard Cross, Freestyle Ski Halfpipe, Freestyle Ski Slopestyle, as well as Snowboard Halfpipe. Three Super Continental Cups and seven Continental Cups will also feature in the competition.

http://wintergamesnz.com

31/08/2013 - 07/09/2013
Gay Ski Week QT

Hundreds of revellers come from around the world to celebrate Gay Ski Week, the Southern Hemisphere's largest Winter Pride event.

The colourful week-long festival features plenty of fun, frivolity and a full programme of on-mountain and après ski social events.

www.gayskiweekqt.com

25/10/2013 - 27/10/2013
Queenstown JazzFest 2013

The Queenstown JazzFest is a live music celebration which brings music to the masses and showcases the breadth of jazz styles from around New Zealand and the world.

http://www.queenstownjazzfest.co.nz/

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