2017 Queenstown Winter Festival dates announced

The dates for Queenstown’s new four-day Queenstown Winter Festival have been confirmed for 22 to 25 June 2017.

The official celebration to mark the beginning of Queenstown’s winter season is being reshaped into a shorter, action packed four-day event from next year, beginning on Thursday 22 June, running through to Sunday 25 June. The dates are deliberately timed to be around two weeks after the scheduled start to the ski season but prior to the Australian and New Zealand school holidays.

American Express Queenstown Winter Festival director Lisa Buckingham says the revamped Festival will retain community favourite events and inject some new and exciting events for 2017.

“We are looking forward to presenting this newly formatted festival to the community and visitors next year. We work very hard to ensure that the Queenstown Winter Festival is an event that locals and visitors alike can enjoy,” says Ms Buckingham.

Destination Queenstown chief executive Graham Budd says next year’s Festival will announce the start of the 2017 winter season with renewed vibrancy.

“We’re excited to bring the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest celebration of winter to the community again in 2017. The new format will allow both visitors and locals to participate in and enjoy the entire festival experience,” says Mr Budd.

Planning for the 2017 event is already in full swing, with the focus now on working with sponsors and stakeholders to design an exciting new Festival programme.