James Beech

New Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden has been welcomed by her predecessors, the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce and Destination Queenstown.

Skippers, engineers, stokers and other former staff of the vintage steamship TSS Earnslaw will be invited to join the party for the Lady of the Lake's centenary in 2012.

An eight-hour rolling party of free open-air live music is coming to Arrowtown as part of the 32nd annual ASB Queenstown JazzFest, on Sunday, October 24.

Almost forgotten for 40 years, the historic bank vault under Arrowtown's Lakes District Museum now hosts a special display which opens to the public next week.

Four Wakatipu artists are profiled in a new book of New Zealand contemporary talents.

A tandem-diving company which began with three staff members in a paddock at Jardine's farm, near Queenstown, celebrates its 20th anniversary this month, coinciding with rave reviews from independent trip advisers.

A Victorian-era classroom session, historic walks, a pipe band procession and a special Mass are plans for the Arrowtown celebration of Australasia's first saint.

Fire damage to a premium lakefront restaurant in Queenstown on Saturday night is being assessed by insurers but it is expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.

A re-enactment of the pioneering gold rush era on the Arrow River is one of the most popular ideas proposed for the 150th anniversary celebration of Arrowtown in 2012.

A total of $4500 was raised towards supporting young Wakatipu residents at X-it Youth Centre by a charity dinner with guest speaker Mike Chunn, of Split Enz fame, on the last Saturday in September.

Images of New Zealand music artists and their body art have been collected in a 2011 calendar and matched with a hand-picked CD of their songs in a celebration of self-expression, the photographer behind the project says.

Fire raged and people screamed near Arthur's Point yesterday - however, the blaze was a controlled firefighting exercise by the Department of Conservation (Doc) Wakatipu and the Queenstown Lakes District Council and the cries came from oblivious Shotover Jet customers a few kilometres down the valley.

For some, living here is like Oktoberfest every dayIn our continuing series of interviews celebrating Queenstown's multicultural society, James Beech catches up with a group of Germans who call Queenstown home.

Evening gloves instead of latex ones, black ties rather than breathing apparatus and dancing instead of defibrillating will be the essentials when the 2010 Queenstown Emergency Services Ball is held next month.