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Central Otago’s acclaimed wine and cuisine takes centre stage at a brand new four-day celebration in and around the Southern Lakes and Central Otago regions in January.

With demand for sustainability, and customers opting for seasonal and local, the many free market days operating around the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago region are increasingly becoming a destination day out.

Lakes District Museum and its popular interactive intrigue just got a whole lot more interesting with the completion of a massive $3.5 million earthquake strengthening and redevelopment, officially opened on December 9.

Relay For Life - Te Ara Toiora - is a Cancer Society community fundraising event filled with energy and emotion. After the covid interruptions of the past few years the event will be reignited next year on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 March at Wānaka’s Pembroke Park.

Despite a slow start, it’s been a big year over at Altitude Brewery and 2023 is shaping up to be even bigger. In addition to winning the Lager than Life competition, they also picked up 19 medals at the Brewers Guild of New Zealand Beer Awards, have hosted a lot of events. Their taproom has come back to life and their wholesale business is going once again.

Contemporary art gallery, Broker, is showcasing a group exhibition, The Insiders, from now and through to the start of 2023. It will feature six artists from Australia and New Zealand and spans across photography, video, painting and drawing. It examines each of the artist’s contemplation of the internalisation of emotional and phycological states within the external, physical spaces of our existence.

A billion-dollar Queenstown development has been given a green light by an independent fast track consenting panel. It was referred to the Government’s expert consenting panel last year under the Fast Track Consenting Act 2020.

Queenstown Airport is expected to hit pre-Covid passenger numbers over Christmas and New Year. In the next fortnight alone, there will be more than 65,000

Queenstown’s council is offering a peppercorn rent on 1.18ha of land to help get a community hub off the ground.

Renowned and adored locally not only for his incredible musical ability, but also his infectious trademark laugh, Mark Wilson has graced more local stages and late night venues than he’s had Fergburgers. The son of an Anglican vicar, Mark has only known blind, but despite that he’s embraced life and all its opportunities with full joy and gusto and the most positive of attitudes. “I guess I’m a glass half full person,” he admits.