The Summerdaze Summer Festival is going great guns with residents and visitors alike, with Twilight Cinema in Queenstown Gardens and the first Puzzling World Junior Challenge Wanaka proving especially popular, organisers say.
The month-long, Queenstown Lakes District-wide series of recreational, sporting, arts and cultural events started with a bang with New Year's Eve celebrations in Queenstown, which drew 7000 revellers despite the rain, and in Wanaka, which attracted 4500 spectators.
Summerdaze co-ordinator Kerry Quin said events since had been well attended, with outdoor movie experiences at Cinema Paradiso and Twilight Cinema attracting crowds in their hundreds.
"In Arrowtown, the Tea Dance was a really nice afternoon, very relaxed, and we had about 30 show up for that, which was good for that type of event."
Ms Quin said the turnout for the Puzzling World Junior Challenge, which started Challenge Wanaka, was "phenomenal", with 200 entrants aged between 6 and 15 and hundreds of spectators.
Wakatipu highlights coming soon include the inaugural Summerdaze Challenge, which will take place at the Queenstown Recreation Ground on Sunday, January 25.
Registration opens at 11am.
Participants aged 8 years and over can be part of a six-person team and go head-to-head on an inflatable obstacle course, battle it out on the dual-lane bungy fun run, and heave their way to victory in a tug of war.
"It's going to be a great day out for groups of friends and family and corporates," Ms Quin said.
X-it Youth Centre's Summer Madness programme, Queenstown Violin Summer School concerts by students and staff, Park Up Queenstown, art and craft and farmers markets, and the Teddy Bears' Picnic are still to come before the end of the festival on February 1.
