Life-savers from the Wakatipu and around the South will get a rare chance to relax and socialise away from the dramas of their professions, when the ball returns to the Queenstown Memorial Hall, on Saturday.
St John Dunedin ambulance officer Kirsty Mann, Lakes District Hospital registered nurse Rachael Long and St John Queenstown ambulance officer Chris Marr are co-ordinating the formal ball for the second year.
About 120 personnel and guests from St John Wakatipu, Lakes District Hospital, volunteer fire brigades in Queenstown, Frankton and Arrowtown, plus staff from Queenstown Medical Centre, Heliworks attended last year, the first ball since 2004.
Similar numbers, if not more, were expected at the October 2 event.
The organisers said they hoped Queenstown police would attend.
Work prevented staff participating last year.
All medical centres, Search and Rescue, Coastguard Queenstown and Medical Rescue were also invited, as well as the Cromwell Volunteer Fire Brigade, the Dunedin Hospital emergency department and St John ambulance brigades in Dunedin and Invercargill.
"The plan was to go a wee bit bigger and better," Miss Mann said this week.
"Most of the time we only meet each other in work situations, when the pressure's on, so the ball is a great opportunity for everyone to meet, socialise and essentially celebrate the work, a lot of it voluntary, that everyone does to keep Queenstown and its visitors safe and well."
The organisers said there would be a prompt 7pm start in the hall, with a glass of sparkling wine on arrival, a buffet supper, live entertainment from Groova and automatic entry into a prize draw.
The Queenstown Ice Hockey Club will run the licensed bar.
Tickets cost $69 per person and are now available from the reception of the St John Wakatipu ambulance station in Frankton.
Tickets will not be available at the door on the night.
All emergency services will have duty crews on stand-by.
