COMING UP IN QUEENSTOWN…
Arrowtown Autumn Festival
12-21 April 2013
Arrowtown, born of gold in 1862, was once a humming gold mining town. During the gold rush the settlers planted an abundance of European deciduous trees throughout the town and surrounding hillsides. Arrowtown has always looked a picture of gold and red glory in autumn so it was surely not a difficult decision back in 1985 for the organisers of a new event to make a decision to set a suitable date and time of year and so began the Arrowtown Autumn Festival. Now running for 28 years the festival attracts large numbers of locals and visitors. Each year people come in droves to take in the stunning scenery and see festival attractions such as the street parade, the Arrow Miners Band play on the Old Red truck and the Buckingham Belles Can Can at the lunchtime entertainment. Many long held festival traditions like the Art Exhibition, the Grand Variety Concert, the Vintage Cars, the Shotover Country Music Concert and the Arrowtown Entertainers Musical remain very popular today and each year new events are added to the programme mix to keep it fresh and interesting. While the festival has grown alot over the past few years and now has around 50 events over 10 days, it still remains very much a community festival with many locals either performing, volunteering or taking part in some way every year.
www.arrowtownautumnfestival.org.nz
American Express Queenstown Winter Festival
22 June to 1 July
Surrounded by stunning snow-capped mountains, Queenstown transforms into a winter paradise each year attracting snow sports enthusiasts from around the world with its incredible scenery, crisp blue-sky days and easy access to some of New Zealand’s finest skiing.
Whether visitors have an appetite for fresh air, adventure and mountains or are more at home tracking down a delicious meal and fine wine, this cosmopolitan lake and alpine resort town provides the perfect mix of on and off snow action.