Join the party at Queenstown's Winter Festival

By GUS ROXBURGH

There's something special about Queenstown. Of course it's spectacular. But even if you've never visited it you knew that already.

Flying along the descent path affords an in-your-face view of some of the most stunning geography you'll ever see from an aeroplane window. And once you've landed, the improbable sight of the Remarkables - backdrop to a thousand car ads and Lord of the Rings shots - is sure to steal what breath remains.

But it's not just the environment that has an intensity to it - so do the people. Renowned as the Adventure Capital of the World, this is the town that takes playing hard to new heights. Not only is almost any adrenaline-based activity that was ever invented on tap, but come nightfall and Queenstown's tightly packed downtown is like K Rd on steroids.

With hundreds of bars and restaurants to chose from, it's the kind of place you need to take a week off after your holiday there just to recover. And to really experience Queenstown in winter there's no better time to visit than during the annual Winter Festival, which this year runs from June 27 to July 6.

Think Queenstown Winter Festival and you possibly conjure up images of the obligatory Shortland Street star or token newsreader making an awkward snowplow down the Coronet Peak slopes. Don't be put off, because the Winter Festival is far more than just a celebrity schmoozefest.

The packed schedule of more than 75 events in downtown Queenstown or on the slopes at Coronet Peak includes music and entertainment, arts and cultural activities, offbeat events and naturally plenty of adrenaline-pumping action.

"It's really a bit like Christmas," says festival promotions manger Alexa Forbes. "It reaches across the board and it's a whole lot of fun for everyone from young children to the grey power generation."

Billed as the Southern Hemisphere's ultimate winter party, the festival, which is a finalist in the Innovators and Events category at this year's New Zealand Tourism Awards, is now in its 29th year. And it's come a long way in those three decades.

"We actually started the festival because we were bored," says Queenstown Lakes District mayor Clive Geddes. "Back in those days Queenstown used to virtually close down after the May school holidays, skiing wasn't such a big tourist activity and the winter season was very quiet. So we started the festival as a community-based week of fun to pick everyone up in the middle of a long, cold winter.

"And I think that's the great thing the festival has retained. While it's far more sophisticated than when we began, it hasn't lost its grounding and it's still something the whole community gets into."

Geddes is famous for his enthusiastic participation, heading the festival parade last year on a Harley-Davidson, dressed as a biker complete with teeth blacked out and trailing a banner that said "Serve to Swerve".

This year the festival comes right before the July school holidays and while it will be a busy week, accommodation is still available and the ski slopes are not nearly as crowded as they get during the peak winter season from mid-July to early September.

According to festival manager Simon Green, it's a great time for out-of-towners to come and check out Queenstown.

"There are so many events on, many of them free, and it's a great time to come and join the locals in the party. We get a lot of people from all over the South Island, Auckland and even Australia coming back each year."

And the best thing is you get to experience some of the country's top performing acts, often in a far more intimate setting than you would in the city."

Speaking of acts, there's everything from the red-hot hip-hop combo Nesian Mystik to the internationally acclaimed jazz combo the Nairobi Trio, plus old favourites such as Jordan Luck's Rock'n'Roll Circus, and Latin big band Kantuta. In between there's comedy, kapa haka, live theatre and of course the ubiquitous celebrity debate.

And Auckland house-music aficionados George FM will be down in force, pumping out the tunes all week from its Queenstown studio.

Around town some of the highlights include the festival parade, fireworks, a teddy bears' picnic for children with Suzy Cato, the Ice Blacks ice hockey team facing off against the Canadian Moose, the top bloke competition, the Undy 500 and of course the famous Birdman event in which competitors attempt to defy gravity by taking flight off the Queenstown wharf before inevitably succumbing to the frigid waters of Lake Wakatipu.

Up at Coronet Peak there is a variety of events, both serious and not so.

"The festival is a real highlight for us as a ski area," says Coronet manager Andy Chapman. "The great atmosphere, the big competitions plus all the zany events make it a fantastic week."

As far as competitions go, the big air event is always a crowd-pleaser and attracts top skiers and snowboarders from all over the globe. So too does the snow-carving competition which this year sees professional teams coming from Italy, Japan and Australia to challenge the Kiwis.

The teams have four days to create their works of art from a 2.5m block of ice and the ethereally beautiful sculptures are created in front of the public right outside Coronet Peak's base buildings.

But it's really the more novel events that are worth checking out at Coronet Peak. There's the suitcase race in which competitors hit impressive speeds riding suitcases down an icy slope. There's the Mountain Bike Downhill. And of course there's the Dog Derby, a sight not to be missed as 70 local farmers and their dogs race down the length of the chairlift in a test of speed, balance and obedience. Oh, and of course there's always the ubiquitous celebrity ski and snowboard race.

Of course timing a skiing holiday in these days of increasingly fickle weather is always a lottery. And that's what makes the Winter Festival an option worth considering. Last year the end of June coincided with some of the best snow of the year, but if the skiing and riding are not so great, you'll at least have plenty to do.

"If it's a great snow year the events at Coronet tend to go off, but if it's not so good, there's plenty to do in town," says Alexa Forbes. "Basically whatever the snow is doing you are guaranteed a good time during the festival."

So if you're thinking of heading south for the festival get on the website and check out the programme.

"Tickets are booking fast for some of the events so I encourage everyone to get in as soon as they can," says Simon Green. "It's going to be a great week so come on down and join the party."

Just be warned - they know how to party in Queenstown!





Festival highlights

Friday, June 27 7pm Cold Power International Ice Hockey: NZ Ice Blacks v Canadian Moose Saturday, June 28 10am Cold Power Snow Sculpture competition starts at Coronet Peak

Noon Hyundai Day on the Bay featuring the Birdman and Undy 500 at Queenstown Bay

5pm Lindauer Winter Festival Opening Party and fireworks at Earnslaugh Park Sunday, June 29 1pm Telecom Suitcase Classic at Coronet Peak 7.30pm American Express Big Night Out Monday, June 30 10.30am Celebrity snow day at Coronet Peak

6pm International Ice Hockey: NZ Ice Blacks v Canadian Moose

7.30pm Sky Alpine Great Comedy Debate Tuesday, July 1 Noon Downtown Day featuring Festival Fear Factor and the Drag Race

6pm Queenstown Mardi Gras Wednesday, July 2 5.30pm Ansell Big Air at Coronet Peak

7pm Festival Theatre at Dorothy Browns Thursday, July 3 10am Real Journeys Teddy Bears' Picnic at Walter Peak

Noon Subway Mountain Bikes on Snow and Coke Cardboard Classic at Coronet Peak

7pm Steinlager Winter Festival Beerfest Friday July 4 8am Lindauer Ski Golf Classic at Coronet Peak and Millbrook

10.30am Ansell Half Pipe Expression Session at Coronet Peak

7pm The Fire Tree show on Marine Parade

7.30pm Juice TV Live on Ice Rave

8pm Sky Alpine Comedy Night Saturday July 5 11am Element Peak to Peak race

1pm Civic Corp Festival Parade in Queenstown

7pm Lindauer Festival Ball Sunday, July 6 12.30pm Speights Dog Derby at Coronet Peak

3pm Coronet Dash for Cash at Coronet Peak

5pm Lindauer Festival Mountain Wrap Party at Coronet Peak

* The full festival programme is available online and tickets can be booked through the Winter Festival website or by phoning (03) 442 5151.