American Express Queenstown Winter Festival

Winter Starts Here! 

There is plenty to get excited about as the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest winter party,  the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival gets into it from June 24th to July 3rd. The Festival celebrates the beginning of winter with a jam packed 10 day programme featuring some hilarious, possibly outrageous and definitely unique Queenstown events. 

There are fireworks, comedy, drag races, birdman action, jazz, food and wine, street parades, family fun, a great mix of internationally acclaimed performers and home-grown acts, a Charity Boxing Match and a glamorous ball – and that is just in town!  Up on the mountain you can catch loads of winter action with ski races, mayhem on the mountain for families and ski and boarding fans, dog races and superb entertainment.  2011 will herald the return of many Festival favourites as well as an injection of fresh new events sure to get everyone in the party mood.

Since first being staged in 1975 by Queenstowner’s who thought the arrival of snow was a ‘great excuse for a party’, the Festival has evolved to forge a unique identity as New Zealand’s premier celebration of all things winter.  Now an iconic event cemented on New Zealand’s calendar, it attracts 60,000 attendees and injects a whopping $45 million back into the local economy.

The Festival gets underway in style on Friday June 24th at the free American Express Opening Party with a spectacular fireworks display, live music, mulled wine, and plenty of laughs. 

Check out all the action at www.winterfestival.co.nz.