SKYCITY brings Masquerade en Blanc to Winter Festival

SKYCITY brings Masquerade en Blanc to the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival

(9 April, Queenstown) – With just ten weeks to go before the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest celebration of winter kicks off, the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival has added a night of mystery and glamour to the programme with the annual SKYCITY Ball themed announced as ‘Masquerade en Blanc’.

Always one of the first events to sell out, the increasing popularity of this Winter Festival event has kept SKYCITY Queenstown eager to continue their support for the third consecutive year.

SKYCITY Queenstown Casinos Marketing Manager Hope Bates says the SKYCITY Ball has become an iconic and popular occasion and has great synergy with SKYCITY’s entertainment focus.

"SKYCITY Queenstown’s wider sponsorship of the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival also further illustrates SKYCITY’s commitment to the Queenstown community, and we’re proud to be part of a Festival that celebrates everything that makes Queenstown a great place to live, work and play, ” says Hope.

Festival Manager Lisa Buckingham says the theme was chosen to retain the glamour of previous years, with the 2013 and 2014 SKYCITY Balls being themed ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Narnia’.

“Masquerade Balls became a feature in Europe’s upper class society during the medieval Carnival season as early as the 15th Century, but masks have also previously played a role with the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival programme – we are developing a bit of a tradition ourselves!”

“The SKYCITY Ball is a spectacular event and with the masquerade theme I am intrigued to see what sort of masks attendees will be wearing! White masks, white dresses – we want to see it all!” says Lisa.

American Express Queenstown Winter Festival are also delighted to announce that Gibbston Valley Wines will return as the exclusive wine suppliers for the SKYCITY Masquerade en Blanc Ball and all other events across the Festival programme.

Gibbston Valley Winery CEO Greg Hunt says that Gibbston Vallery Winery is delighted to once again be the wine sponsors for the SKYCITY Ball and other American Express Queenstown Winter Festival events this year.

“At Gibbston Valley our aim is to not only create premium Central Otago wines but to offer something that gives people a reason to celebrate, and being the official wine supplier for the SKYCITY Ball couldn’t be a better fit. With the Masquerade en Blanc theme we’ll have plenty of whites lined up for the occasion. It’s going to be another spectacular event in 2015,” says Greg.

Tickets for the SKYCITY Masquerade en Blanc Ball are expected to be hot property and will go on sale on Monday May 4th at 12pm, although American Express Card Members can purchase tickets from 9am on Tuesday 28th April as part of the American Express Pre-Sale.

The SKYCITY Ball Masquerade en Blanc will take place on Saturday 27 June at the Queenstown Memorial Centre. Tickets cost $159 and lucky attendees will enjoy a delicious three-course meal, accompanied by outstanding wines from award-winning Gibbston Valley Wines. HITMEN will provide an interactive and rocking show for dinner guests as this year’s entertainment.

With just ten weeks until the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival starts, more events are being added to the programme each day. Festival Manager Lisa Buckingham advises people to visit www.winterfestival.co.nz regularly to see what’s new.

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