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2ndth Jan May -- 38rdth May 2017 27 Feb 2014
FIRST ON THE STREET
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No No 434 598
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
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There is a reason May is the most popular month for locals to go on holiday. It is usually the month of ‘nothingness’ as the long wait begins until the mountain opens and we have something to get excited about again. Signalling the end of nothingness and the beginning of the ski season, as it has since 1975, is Queenstown’s Winter Festival. This year, WinterFest starting on 22 June has a lot to prove. Setting the benchmark on how to run a successful community orientated seasonal event was the Arrowtown Autumn Festival a couple of weekends ago. Being an Arrowtowner I may be biased, but regardless of where you live in the district you cannot deny the success of this festival. It is an important economic peg in the ground signalling to the world Arrowtown is the place to be during autumn. For its vibrant colours and all round atmosphere, but most importantly as a community get together before winter sets in and we hide ourselves away behind thermal curtains until the first daffodil pokes its head through the ground in September. It hasn’t been easy in recent years with a shoestring budget and run by volunteers. Tough calls on the length of Autumn Fest were made and the shortened program meant ditching some long-standing iconic events. However the proof is in the pudding and with an estimated 15,000 people packing the streets on parade day, many of them local, to watch dozens of performers, all of them local, the tough calls have been vindicated. Now it’s Queenstown’s turn. As Queenstown continues to grow at a record pace, the question is, can the annual WinterFest pull us together over a mulled wine in puffer jackets and beanies for a good old fashioned party that celebrates the tightknit community that is Queenstown? An excuse for a local celebration to kickstart the ski season is why it all began. We cannot rely on B List Auckland media personalities to do our marketing for us. If the world sees locals out and about enjoying their own town, they will join in and keep Queenstown Inc. ticking along. If there has been a criticism of Queenstown’s winter show piece in recent years it is the lack of community engagement. On the WinterFest website in the ‘About Queenstown’ section they use video of Arrowtown’s Autumn Festival to put a bit of local flavour into the branding. This year Queenstown needs to add some WinterFest images of locals having fun and participating, and show there is still a great little community within the mass tourism machine.
Erich and Mel Stadler celebrating Mel’s birthday at Surreal Bar on Friday. (Photo: Jodi Walters)
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As much a challenge for event organisers, this years revamped WinterFest is also a challenge to local Queenstowners to get off the sofa and get amongst it. Condensing the program and bringing back the community feel is in my opinion the right move. It’s got to start with the locals and if we get out and enjoy it, the positive spin off for our economy and community spirit will follow. Scott Stevens scott@lwb.co.nz
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