Festival stays fresh

Director Lisa Buckingham is gearing up for the Queenstown Winter Festival, which gets under way on June 24. She tells Guy Williams how the event is shaping up. 

What are the biggest challenges in organising an event of this scale?

Perhaps the biggest challenge is ensuring the various attendees and stakeholders are catered for in the programme.

The festival appeals to so many different demographic groups.

The fact it's loved by so many people but for many different reasons means we are constantly assessing and evolving things so that everyone has a fabulous experience.

During the event, how do you plan your days and how much sleep do you get?

I aim to go to as many events as possible, right across the programme.

Sometimes I can't be in two places at once, but I also have a fantastic team so together we ensure we're spreading ourselves across the various events.

I do have to pace myself, and no, I don't sleep a whole lot!

What's new in the festival this year?

Loads!

We've got the Midwinter in the Wakatipu, which is a great opportunity to support the Wakatipu Youth Trust, and we've got the Mitre 10 Mega Raft Race as part of iHeartRadio Day on the Bay.

There are various corporate groups and groups of friends putting together rafts, and they'll take to the icy waters of the Wakatipu, on the first Sunday of the festival, as a fundraiser for Coastguard Queenstown.

It is the first year in quite some time that the Earnslaw is in the water during the festival - normally it's on survey then - and it will run a Mistletoe Cruise midweek.

We've got World Social Media Day happening on June 30, and so there's a cruise with Southern Discoveries to a Barbecue and Bonfire Instameet at Mt Nicholas.

We've also got a Winter Boat Party with DJ P-Money and there are some other things popping up across the week as well.

How is the festival paid for?

The main source of funding is from commercial partners, but we also have support from Destination Queenstown, which owns the event, and the Queenstown Lakes District Council, plus other funding partners such as community trusts.

Some of the ticketed events help support the costs of the free community events.

How many people are involved in running the festival this year?

The festival team grows to 24 while it's running, and we are supported by about 75 volunteers.

There will also be dozens of staff involved from our suppliers, such as production, fireworks, security, equipment hire and many others.