Fresh snow and a special cultural welcome on the first day of the 43rd Queenstown Winter Festival
22 June 2017
While the Queenstown Winter Festival is usually known for its wintery madcap events, a new special cultural welcome
stole some limelight on the opening day.
“We achieved all that we had hoped for with today’s opening events,” said Lisa Buckingham, Queenstown Winter Festival
Director.
“The 43rd Queenstown Winter Festivals opening day celebrated our farming, tourism and cultural heritage with humour,
colour and respect in our beautiful alpine surrounds,” said Ms Buckingham.
The Monteith’s Dog Derby and Dog Barking, Comedy Night and the QRC Hospitality Race all delivered what the Festival is
known for – comedy and chaos. It was the Queenstown Winter Festival Welcome that drew the community and visitors to the
waterfront at sunset to acknowledge a sense of place and belonging to a special place.
“The new Queenstown Winter Festival Welcome on the new opening night programme brought together traditional Maori
culture in a unique Queenstown environment in a way not seen at the Festival before,” said Ms Buckingham.
A double hulled waka paddled at dusk into Queenstown Bay to be greeted by Ngai Tahu kaumatua, runanga, a kapa haka group
and Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett. The local and international crowds gathered on the waterfront were hushed as
they watched the waka arrive with the backdrop of pink hued skies that cleared on cue after a day of snow and fog.
READ MORE: https://www.winterfestival.co.nz/stories/fresh-snow-and-a-special-cultural-welcome-on-the-first-day/
Downloadable hi res images for media are available here;
Public galleries with more downloadable hi res images for each event are here; https://www.winterfestival.co.nz/galleries/2017-photo-gallery/
Fresh images will be uploaded hourly from 22 – 27 June 2017.
Raw video footage is available for the 2017 Dog Derby. Email media@winterfestival.co.nz to request a Dropbox folder share.
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