Queenstown hasn’t officially been flooded (in the conventional sense) since 1999, but every year the South Island snow town is the centre of one of the biggest winter festivals in the Southern Hemisphere – The Lindauer Queenstown Winter Festival.
Throughout the ten days the festival runs, people from all walks of life descend on the town for a variety of very different events, from dog barking competitions to old farts balls, and hilarious celebrity races and comedy debates.
This year is the thirtieth anniversary of the festival, and was opened by Prime Minister Helen Clark on Friday night before a crowd of at least 12,000 people. And it wouldn’t be an official opening of a festival without a huge fireworks display which lit up the entire sky and harbour.
Locals and visitors flock to the many events, with most already sold out. This year’s comedy debate has been sold out for several weeks, and with a moot relating to the New Zealand Idol phenomenon - "Is New Zealand a Nation of Idols or an Idol nation". Several time Winter Festival goer, New Zealand Idol presenter Dominic Bowden is also present at the festival although unfortunately not involved in the debate. (Although I’m sure that would have made the event sell out twice as fast).
This is my first Winter Festival and I’m looking forward to the weird and wacky goings on around town, I mean it’s not every day half naked people run around the bay (Undie 500) or the commercial jet boat companies race each other in the harbour, before letting a number of celebrities take the wheel (Lana Cocroft managed to steer her boat into the beach last year), or half insane people jump into a freezing cold lake on a freezing cold day (Birdman).
It’s sure to be a cracker of a Festival, as all the surrounding ski fields have opened to huge dumping of snow, fuelling the fire of skiers and snowboarders alike and - also dressing the surrounding mountains (like the visitors) to the nines.
Queenstown hasn’t officially been flooded (in the conventional sense) since 1999, but every year the South Island snow town is the centre of one of the biggest winter festivals in the Southern Hemisphere – The Lindauer Queenstown Winter Festival.
Locals and visitors flock to the many events, with most already sold out. This year’s comedy debate has been sold out for several weeks, and with a moot relating to the New Zealand Idol phenomenon - "Is New Zealand a Nation of Idols or an Idol nation". Several time Winter Festival goer, New Zealand Idol presenter Dominic Bowden is also present at the festival although unfortunately not involved in the debate. (Although I’m sure that would have made the event sell out twice as fast).
It’s sure to be a cracker of a Festival, as all the surrounding ski fields have opened to huge dumping of snow, fuelling the fire of skiers and snowboarders alike and - also dressing the surrounding mountains (like the visitors) to the nines.