American Express Queenstown Winter Festival 2009

Winter Starts Here. The Southern Hemisphere’s biggest winter party is the American Express Queenstown Winter Festival and this year it runs from June 26th to July 5th.

The festival is celebrating its 35th birthday with 10 days of totally outrageous and uniquely Queenstown events.

There’s plenty to get excited about with loads of mountain action, street parties, fireworks, live concerts, comedy, theatre, family fun, and a great mix of internationally acclaimed performers and home-grown acts. The 35 year milestone also heralds the return of many Festival favourites as well as an injection of fresh new events sure to get everyone in the party mood.

Since first being staged in 1975 by Queenstowner’s who thought the arrival of snow was a ‘great excuse for a party’, the Festival has evolved to forge a unique identity as Down Under’s premier celebration of all things winter. Now an iconic event cemented on New Zealand’s calendar, it attracts 60,000 attendees and injects a whopping $45 million back into the local economy.

The Festival gets underway in style on Friday 26 June at the free American Express Opening Party with a spectacular fireworks display, live music, mulled wine, and plenty of laughs.

Check out all the action at www.winterfestival.co.nz.

Tickets will go on sale on April 2nd on the Winter Festival website and through Ticketdirect.