2019 FESTIVAL
Welcome to Queenstown's Winter Pride '19, the most popular Winter Pride Festival in the Southern Hemisphere.
Winter Pride '19 is renowned for fun both on and off the mountain, and once you've come once, you are bound to want to come back again.
This year's festival is continuning to grow the ON-MOUNTAIN SERIES with a designated mountain resort hosting the festival each day so that we can keep the fun in one place. This year, our partner mountains are working with us to dedicate areas of their bars and restaurants to our pride festival, meaning music, plenty of socialising and a real pride vibe on the slopes.
Our free ski / boarding guides will also be there to show you around. Just like you, they are people who are here on holiday and who want to have the best time yet. They are volunteering to help make your trip even more fun and we are confident that you'll love them.
For those who aren't so keen on snow, check out our OFF-MOUNTAIN SERIES - lots to choose from that will be a bit warmer than the hitting the slopes. Schedule should come online in February 2019.
And then, of course, the usual PRIDE PARTY SERIES - those great parties you've always loved in the past with a few extra special ones this time round - check out our main events schedule and check in again for the full schedule due for release February 2019.
There are also opportunities for you to volunteer and help out. As a social enterprise, Winter Pride, needs approximately 50 volunteers to generously give their time in order to make this event a success. We will do a call-out for volunteers closer to the festival. Subscirbe to our newsletter if you would like us to email you with updates.
Lots of choices for you all, so get out there and have fun.
We can't wait to have you all along.
Winter Pride '19 Durex Pride Party Series, On-Mountain Series and Shotover Jet Off-Mountain Series - the choice is yours
Don't miss a thing! Keep checking back for updates (below).
The DUREX PRIDE PARTY SERIES schedule and the ON-MOUNTAIN SERIES schedule are both available below.
For those interested in even more activities; including adventure, other outdoors, pamper or food and wine, the Shotover Jet Off-Mountain Series will be completed in April.
Platinum Accommodation Sponsor - Accor Hotels
Whether you are 'On Mountain Series' or 'Off Mountain Series' we have the perfect 4 star & 5 star accommodation options for you.
- Mercure Queenstown Resort
- Novotel Queenstown Lakeside (HOST Hotel)
- St Moritz Queenstown - MGalley by Sofitel
- Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa
Staying in an Accor hotel gives you the reassurance of a reputable brand that are proud members of the Pride Pledge. Our LGBTTQ+ supportive team will give you the insider knowledge and recommendations of their favourite picks in Queenstown. PLUS All hotels are centrally located with easy access to all Winter Pride events, Ski experiences and public buses. Nothing is in your way of having the best time!
Please remember to SUPPORT THOSE WHO SUPPORT US.
BOOK at a Queenstown ACCOR Hotel today BOOK other accommodation offers
Tickets and passes
Head to our PACKAGES page for information on event passes. All bundled passes are available on eventfinda and individual tickets will start becoming available early February 2019.
Event Passes
On Mountain Series
The Queenstown Lakes region has four mountain resorts. This year we are partnering with three resorts to provide our On-Mountain Series of Events: Cardrona Alpine Resort and The Remarkables and (in discussion) Cornet Peak.
We will also be negotiating with our partners to put on the incredible Pride Buses again in 2019, letting you head up and down the mountains with the rest of the Winter Pride crew with minimum hassle each day.
Our ON-MOUNTAIN SERIES page will be updated as plannign progresses into 2019 with more information on what's hapenning when and where up the mountains.
Download ON MOUNTAIN schedule (PDF)
Off Mountain Series - updates coming March 2019
This year, Winter Pride '19 is continuing an OFF-MOUNTAIN Series of events including Pride Groups for Queenstown's usual Adrenaline Junky activities such as as Shotover Jet Boats and Zip Trek and many other activites that this region is famous for.
More wine tasting, food and other outdoor activities such as Hikes for Pride are also in the pipeline, which shoud help those of you who want a day or two off the mountian to have even more fun with other festival goers this Winter Pride. And we are partnering with Onsen Hot Pools for those of you who enjoy that extra little pamper time.
Once again we will hold our public event, Pride in the Park, where the whole community can celebrate with us on the final Friday afternoon.
And we are also introducing a Sevens Touch Tournament. So rugby fans, join one of the mixed teams and get out onto the field or just come as a spectator and enjoy.
Watch this space. It should line up to be an exciting and fun week.
Pride Party Series
As always, the Pride Party Series is one of the highlights of our week long festival. A great place to meet new people and old friends.
This year we are keeping some of our old favourites and increasing some venue sizes so that more people can get tickets to our parties. Our PROPAGANDA Final Party will be an extravagant end to the week, with performers and DJs, followed closely in popularity by the the Leather and Lace Party, SKYCITY Karoake and the Urge Underwear party earlier in the week.
We have reformatted the cabaret evening into an exciting new format, making it more accessibie to a wider audience in terms of cost, and transformed it into "Queenstown's Got Talent" a shortlist of our best talent from volunteers ot some more celubrious permoring talent and hosts.
Following on from the success fo 2018, Apres ski will be each evening at Smiths Craft Beer House - a real Pride Bar, with DJ's, good company and friendly staff. We have also mixed it up a bit by putting the Queer Quiz on hold for the year while we re-boot our Games Night as "Cards against Humanity" and give you more time to chat and catch up with firends surrounded by the worst possible humour.
For the men who like to really dress down, we are in the process of re-partnering with Urge Events to bring their (in)famous Underwear Party back to town (All men, MSM).
We are also exploring a Transpositive Cocktail evening and a ladies pre-drinks event before one of hte bigger parties (still in the early planning stages).
If you want to meet new people outside of parties, we are tweaking our Shared Table series so that we have a choice of showcased restaurants each night - you choose and you book - and there should be plenty of other WInter Pride guests there for you to meet and feel at home with.
Schedule of MAIN events included in 2019 EVENT PASSES