By late Saturday afternoon more than 100 people had gathered at a reserve at Sunshine Bay, determined to mark Crate Day and enjoy the first weekend of summer.
Organiser Jay — who would not give his surname — said he was at the Village Green impromptu event last year which, in part, led police to ask for the temporary alcohol ban in and around the CBD over the weekend.
It came into effect at 10pm on Friday and ended at 8am today.
"There weren’t enough rubbish bins [last year]," Jay said.
"Everyone’s not going to take their rubbish home.
"All I wanted to do [this year] was bring everyone together and just indulge in Crate Day."
While there were a few rubbish bins dotted around the reserve, Jay said he planned on using a van to collect the rubbish leftyesterday, which had been neatly piled in the middle of the reserve yesterday morning, and put it into the skip bin at his work.
He hoped to talk to the Queenstown Lakes District Council about organising an event around Crate Day next year, with security, skip bins, and a barbecue.
Police kept a close eye on the gathering throughout the day, but a police media spokeswoman said there were no incidents reported.
