James Beech

Bargain hunters, gardeners and connoisseurs of homebaked goods will be in seventh-heaven when the annual fundraising Anglican Market Day opens for business tomorrow.

Rhythm and Alps, the Canterbury-based sister music festival of Gisborne's Rhythm and Vines, makes its eagerly awaited debut in late December and the Queenstown Times has two tickets to give away.

A trio of accomplished composers, singers and musicians celebrate their shared tribal ancestry with a fusion of ancient stories of Aotearoa, modern arrangements and lush harmonies in a Queenstown art gallery on Sunday.

Closer ties with the film industries of China and Korea are being fostered.

Passengers will soon be able to watch, read, touch, swipe and pinch on iPads to their heart's content while flying between Queenstown and Australia, Jetstar confirms.

The pilot who died in a crash when he tried to land on a private airstrip in Arrowtown last month knew cattle were grazing on the land and had not asked for the cows to be cleared, the landowner says.

Friends, family and fans of Queenstown photographers Marina Mathews and Kevin Wakeling attended last week's official opening of Project Space, the duo's new fine art gallery in the foyer of the Mountaineer building. James Beech was there with his camera.

Queenstown stands to benefit from a $9 million Asia-Pacific marketing boost by partners Tourism New Zealand and Jetstar, as well as Air New Zealand's bolstered capacity on its Rotorua-Christchurch route and a trial service between Christchurch, Mt Cook and the resort.

Catering for time-poor visitors from emerging Asian tourism markets is behind Air New Zealand's 12-month notice to operators it will boost passenger capacity between Rotorua and Queenstown next summer.

"Absolutely thrilled" was how Queenstown artist Jan Crawford felt when she won the top prize in the 2011 Locations Art Awards on Friday night.

About 15,000 revellers rocked out to Creedence Clearwater Revisited when the band shared the bill with Dr Hook in Gibbston in March this year and now the five-piece act are coming back for more.

A $2.56 million upgrade of the ageing civic and performing arts space in central Queenstown does not quash plans for a new purpose-built facility, the Queenstown Lakes District Council and the Central Lakes Trust said.

Ambitions for a multimillion-dollar supermarket and fuel station in Queenstown, which was expected to create 250 jobs, have been dashed after a veto from commissioners.