Blog

New Zealand’s newest wine and food festival – Ripe – welcomed a crowd of over 2000 people at the inaugural event in Wānaka on Sunday. The warm weather conditions enhanced the spirits of festival goers who turned out to Wānaka’s Corbridge Estate to sample Central Otago wine, beer and food from 37 vendors, including Maude […]

Organisers of the Wanaka A&P Show have confirmed another tremendous turnout for the annual event, with about 45,000 people attending the two-day Show this weekend. Many months of planning went into the 84th Wanaka A&P Show – the largest lifestyle event in the South Island – with new challenges presented this year due to the […]

The Wanaka A&P Show is pleased to announce that it is continuing its setup for the 2021 Show – to be held on March 12-13 – assuming the South Island returns to Alert Level 1 next week. Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of a huge percentage of valued trade exhibitors, sponsors and funders who pledged […]

An abstract oil painting of Dunedin’s Port Chalmers was judged Supreme Winner at the Craigs Aspiring Art Prize in Wanaka tonight. Boat Study (View from Deborah Bay) by Dunedin contemporary artist Philip Maxwell was awarded the Craigs Investment Partners Prize of $10,000 at the opening night of the exhibition at Holy Family Catholic School. The […]

Wānaka marketing communications agency Scope Media has been named a finalist for the NZ Communications Council Pressies Awards. The agency is a finalist in the Best Use of Media Relations category for its work on launching Wānaka start-up Nautilus Modular in November last year. Scope Media is in the running with the country’s best PR […]

Inspirational stories of resilience in business in a Covid world will be shared at the third annual Ignite Wānaka Women in Business Christmas Lunch next month. Ignite Wānaka Chamber of Commerce has secured Laura Douglas and Bridget Legnavsky as keynote speakers at the signature Chamber event, to be held at Corbridge Woolshed on Friday, December […]

One of New Zealand’s biggest names in the wine industry, Master Sommelier Cameron Douglas, will appear as a special guest at Wānaka’s newest wine and food festival. Ripe: The Wānaka Wine and Food Festival has secured Douglas, an experienced wine writer, commentator, judge and reviewer, to host a presentation at the inaugural festival, which takes […]

Ear Health Central Otago is responding to a growing need for more ear care services by setting up a new, dedicated clinic in Alexandra. The leading ear care provider, which also operates in Wānaka and Queenstown, will open its purpose-built facility at 86 Centennial Avenue on Thursday, November 5. The Alexandra clinic will be the […]

Twenty-nine students and 20 teachers and staff from the school are participating in weekly training sessions, led by Braden Lee of Industrial Fitness, to get in tip-top condition for the world-renowned marathon, which takes place Saturday, November 21. NZSIR offered each participant a subsidised entry fee to their event of choice out of the New […]

Central Otago’s acclaimed wine and food will take centre stage in Wānaka next year with the launch of Ripe, a new festival for the region. Established to attract Kiwis to Wānaka, Ripe is designed to celebrate the Central Otago viticulture industry and local culinary scene. The event will be held over Otago Anniversary weekend, on […]

Organisers of the district’s first creative community showcase have launched a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for volunteers involved in the events. The Three Lakes Cultural Trust is running a Boosted campaign ahead of the highly anticipated RenewArt events in Queenstown and Wānaka next month. The Trust has already raised more than $180,000 to stage […]

Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust’s ground-breaking assisted ownership model, Secure Home, is coming to Wānaka for the first time – with six houses under construction at Hikuwai. QLCHT is building two 2-bedroom, three 3-bedroom, and one 4-bedroom houses with local building firm, Breen Homes at the popular subdivision. Construction is due for completion April 2021. […]

More than 100 arts and cultural practitioners in the Queenstown Lakes District stand to benefit from the RenewArt initiative by the Three Lakes Cultural Trust. The Trust has today announced the 41 successful recipients of the RenewArt grants, who will now receive funding for their creative work to be displayed or performed at free community […]

Queenstown’s Salvation Army has received a substantial boost to help pay for a brand new purpose built facility, designed to help the community’s most needy. Remarkables Park Limited (RPL) is providing $1 million towards the construction of a new Salvation Army building on Pin Oak Avenue at Remarkables Park, Queenstown. The 900sq m two-storey facility […]

The Three Lakes Cultural Trust today announces plans to help renew and reinvigorate the local arts and cultural sector with two new community events in Queenstown and Wanaka this spring. The Trust – which supports and advocates for arts and culture in the Queenstown Lakes – invites all local artists to apply to showcase their […]

The developers behind Cromwell’s highly anticipated new neighbourhood, Wooing Tree Estate, have just released the first sections to the public.   Offering sites in a prime location over a 25.4ha site, Wooing Tree Estate is being developed alongside the iconic Wooing Tree Vineyard. Vineyard owners Steve and Thea Farquharson are retaining their award-winning winery in amongst the mixed […]

Two Queenstown-based tourism operators have joined forces in a bid to ensure the industry will survive COVID-19. Totally Tourism founder Mark Quickfall and Altitude Tours and Black ZQN director Nigel Hobbs are optimistic the region will be reinvigorated in the future and domestic tourism will ramp up as the threat of the coronavirus subsides. New […]

Necessity really is the mother of invention for New Zealand’s latest start-up company, which takes one problem caused by the coronavirus lockdown and uses it to solve another. ToMyDoor is a personal shopping service for Kiwis who want their shopping delivered to their front door. In the current environment it is for people in lockdown, […]

MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE WANAKA A&P SHOW, WANAKA  The 83rd annual Wanaka A&P Show has wrapped up with bumper crowds, stunning weather and a huge variety of entertainment for rural and urban communities alike. The iconic Show, held at the Wanaka Showgrounds over two days from March 13-14, is one of New Zealand’s largest agricultural and […]

MEDIA RELEASE FROM IGNITE WANAKA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, WANAKA Ignite Wanaka Chamber of Commerce board chair Bridget Legnavsky has today announced that she has resigned from the voluntary position to focus on her expanded responsibilities at Cardrona and Treble Cone. Legnavsky, who has been chair of the board since December 2017 and an elected member […]

MEDIA RELEASE FROM THREE LAKES CULTURAL TRUST   Artists and arts organisations of the Queenstown Lakes District can learn how to attract funding via two anticipated workshops this month. Organised by arts advocacy body the Three Lakes Cultural Trust, the workshops will be held in Queenstown on March 24 and Wanaka on March 25 and include […]