Central Otago Wine & Food Festival, early Feb, celebrates and showcases award-winning wineries in the local area
Silverstone Race to the Sky, mid Apr, is a spectacular motorised hill climb race held in the nearby Cardrona valley (website: www.racetothesky.com)
Arrowtown Autumn Festival, Apr, celebrates the arrival of autumn, Arrowtown (website: www.arrowtownautumnfestival.org.nz)
Lindauer Queenstown Winter Festival, early Jul, involves arts workshops, sporting events, comedy, parades, music, theatre and many crazy competitions (website: www.winterfestival.co.nz)
Gay Ski Week, early Sep, is the largest festival of its kind in the Southern hemisphere (website: www.gayskiweeknz.com)
Cocktail World Cup, Sep, bartenders from around the world compete to create the most original drinks (website: www.cocktailworldcup.com)
The Remarkables Spring Carnival, late Sep, is a celebration of the start of spring skiing including a raft race on snow (website: www.nzski.com)
Queenstown International Jazz Festival, mid Oct, is a high quality event with over 100 musicians and performers from around the globe (website: www.queenstownjazz.co.nz)