Music and apres-ski festival Snow Machine, due to make its New Zealand debut on the slopes of The Remarkables and Coronet Peak this September, has released a limited batch of tickets exclusively for locals.
The four-day festival, which is slated to bring $15 million into Queenstown alongside thousands of Aussies and out-of-towners, brings together the best of the resort with ticket-holders able to purchase ski, adventure and accommodation packages that go hand-in-hand with the event.
Festival director Quentin Nolan says with general tickets on the verge of selling out, he wants to make sure the festival, with a line-up that includes The Presets, Bliss N Eso, Fat Freddy’s Drop and Hot Dub Time Machine, is accessible for those living and working in town as well.
‘‘We just want to make an event which is sustainable, that we can do every year and that just gets everybody on board, so that was the idea behind the locals tickets.’’
Four-day passes, which provide access to all apres shows at both mountains, as well as the downtown main stage, have been slashed to near half-price for Queenstown residents, and a series of single-day tickets are exclusively available for locals wanting to choose when they get among the festivities.
‘‘We recognise that people have to work and have other responsibilities … so there’s the option of buying a day ticket which would get you any of the apres shows at Remarkables or Coronet Peak on that day, and the main stage at Warren Park.’’
Snow Machine was due to bring its buzz to Queenstown for the first time in August last year, and despite lockdown forcing its postponement to this year, Nolan says the appetite for such experiences, suppressed by the pandemic, is now stronger than ever.
‘‘What we’re trying to achieve is basically combining a music festival with a really awesome holiday … I think now that travel’s opened up, it’s kind of the best of both worlds.
‘‘All the businesses and everyone in town has been super supportive and we’re just excited to get things under way now.’’
Nolan says accommodation bookings in Queenstown for the weekend are near capacity, and come September 7-10 there will be 6000 people in town for the event.
‘‘It’s gonna be a pretty cool vibe because people are staying a week and there’s stuff on-snow and off-snow, and they’ll be doing all the adventure activities … so it should be pretty special.’’
Local tickets are available in hardcopy only from Snow Machine’s pop-up at 15 Church Street.
