WELCOME TO WINTER PRIDE 2023
Twenty years ago, the very first Winter Pride, then known as Gay Ski week, was just getting started. There was no Apple iPad, Tik Tok, fit bits, no Instagram, actually even the iPhone was still 4 years away from being a thing and it would be 10 years until same sex marriage was legalised in New Zealand.
In other words, our little pride ski festival has been on Queenstown festival schedule and witnessed huge social and technology change. Mike, my husband and I bought the festival back in 2018 with the idea of broadening it out, thus changing its name to Winter Pride and that’s also proven to be an enormously successful step forward.
There have been great strides for LGBTQIA+ acceptance over that time and without the broad community support Queenstown provides, the party would probably have stopped a long time ago. Queenstown ensures visitors feel safe for the ten days they are here. Within that environment it’s easy to assume that acceptance and openness is a normal part of the queer community’s existence but it’s not and tolerance is regressing. In some ways it would have been nice if some of the technologies that weren’t around twenty years ago, never came into existence as online platforms have provided a megaphone for hate and conspiracy theories that means that the queer community is facing a fight to retain some of those hard-fought rights in what we see as very liberal communities.
For a number who will be in Queenstown this week for Winter Pride this is the one time of the year, where they will feel freedom and love across a community. Some will have come from places where their existence will be illegal or marginalised. Even in Australia and yes in some corners of New Zealand there will be visitors who won’t feel safe enough to be themselves at home or in their place of work. It’s one reason I am so proud of all the local businesses that are partners in the Pride Pledge or who just put out the pride flag out to says to the festival guest, welcome and you are safe here.
Winter Pride kicks off later this week with 50 events, ten more than last year, there are over 5,000 tickets sold and events will sell out like they do every year. There are ski days, drag shows, games nights and free community events where Queenstown locals come and have a terrific time and hopefully make new friends and have a laugh.
Winter Pride is one of Queenstown’s major festivals contributing to its economic and cultural growth. I am immensely proud of that and proud of how true that this is indeed the festival in a small town with a bold heart, but I don’t take it for granted, none of us ever should. Now let’s Party Queenstown!!
Martin King, Director
EXPLORE ALL GIGs OF WINTER PRIDE | winterpride.co.nz
