The course aims to show how preserving can be "quick, simple, rewarding, a good way to save money and will fill the pantry for the winter months".
Materials are provided, the fee is $10 a person per class, and it runs from 9.30am until noon on the Saturday.
The venture is sponsored by a committee featuring representatives from the New Zealand Federated Women's Institute, and Wakatipu High ACE.
ACE co-ordinator Judy Williamson said the course was particularly prudent in the midst of the recession.
"We're trying to encourage people to realise they can keep fruit and vegetables and stretch the season.
They will learn the old fashioned way of eating and keeping food inexpensively."
The preserving course is one of 14 which are open to the public aged more than 16 years and not full-time high school students.
A total of six people had registered so far.
Other classes include travel Spanish, level two Spanish, travel French, beginners' Portuguese, beginners' Japanese, advanced beginners' English, English grammar for Korean speakers, stress reduction, world religions, digital photography introduction, basic dressmaking, computer confidence and upholstery.
Co-ordinators are also seeking expressions of interest in Treaty of Waitangi and smoking cessation classes.
Adult education courses are funded from the same Ministry of Education source as polytechnics and universities to keep the classes affordable, Mrs Williamson said.
Fees ranged from $25 to $135, depending on the class.
Non-residents pay an additional $20 a course or $5 for a one-night class because the classes are subsidised by the Government for New Zealand residents only. Proof of residency may be required.
Registration and most classes are at Wakatipu High School.
There is a map and a display of room assignments on the school office door.
Mrs Williamson said Queenstown was a 24/7 resort and "one of the hardest places to get everybody wanting to do the same thing in the same place at the same time".
However, the town was growing in population and could sustain evening classes, which were consistently averaging eight students a session, slightly up from last term.
