Thousands of smiling families and visitors thronged the Arrowtown Autumn Festival during the weekend.
The huge bustling arts and crafts market on Saturday spilled from the village green on to closed Buckingham St. There, an international food market with chairs, tables and live music was a gourmet's delight and did a roaring trade.
Street entertainers, displays of children's creative scarecrows and gold-panning drew the crowds, as did
bands playing smooth pop and jazz on Buckingham Green.
A constant flow of admirers enjoyed the hundreds of artworks in assorted media and covering myriad subjects in the sponsored art exhibition at the Lakes District Museum.
Lorraine Higgins, of Cromwell, won the Locations Supreme Painting Award and took home $3500 for her oil painting titled Arrow River Walk.
Wise heads claimed the best spots along Buckingham St with their portable chairs a good hour before the street parade began with appropriate fanfare from the Queenstown and Southern Lakes Highland Pipe Band.
Dozens of bright colourful floats seemed to drift slowly behind vintage cars through the people-lined thoroughfare, representing community groups, schools, restaurants, companies and the emergency services.
Arrowtown Cubs and Scouts won the $500 Best Float prize for their impressive kayaks-on-rapids creation.
Long-serving festival committee chairman Lex Perkins said on Saturday he was happy with the large number of people attending.
''We've been blessed by the weather, because it looked bad for Friday and Saturday.
''There's been a record number of floats, and quite a few new ones, to make it one of the best parades yet.''
Tickets were still on sale for the evening entertainment scheduled for the rest of the festival this week, including the musical comedy by the Arrow Entertainers It's Out of the Bag, an evening with hypnotist Dave Upfold, Shotover Country Music's concert, inspiring speaker Jamie Fitzgerald (the first New Zealander to reach the South Pole unsupported on foot) and the variety concert grand finale, Mr Perkins said.
Amelia Gatward-Ferguson (17), of Queenstown, became New Zealand gold-panning champion with joint fastest time,
panning for all the hidden gold dust in only 59 seconds, when the championship was held yesterday on Butlers Green. For the second time, she won $1200 towards representing New Zealand at the Australasian championships.
Amelia was the youngest person to win the national title three years ago and said she was feeling generally positive about a return to the transtasman stage.
''I think I have a good shot, but it's a lot different there.''
