Gay Ski Week Queenstown

Queenstown is a world famous hot spot for skiers and snowboarders. During the winter season, the city is full of festivals and events that celebrate the winter and welcome the fresh powder on the surrounding mountains. One of the biggest festivals in Queenstown is Gay Ski Week. Get yourself prepared for what will be a week of what can only be described as pure craziness.

About Gay Ski Week (Winter Pride) Queenstown

This is when hundreds of people from the LGBT community travel to Queenstown to ski and party. In fact, Gay Ski Week is the largest gay winter festival in the entire southern hemisphere. As you can imagine Queenstown is packed full of live music, drinking, and socialising. This year is set to be bigger and better than any year with Cardrona, The Remarkables and Coronet opening their doors to celebrate in style.

Gay Ski Week is in the process of rebranding to better incorporate Pride. So you’ll see more rainbow flags and mention of Winter Pride Queenstown (which is basically the same thing as Gay Ski Week but just includes everything and not just the skiing!)

Gay Ski Week Festival Guide 2018

This year the party starts on Saturday the 1st September. The itinerary will be packed full with huge events every night of the week, but also plenty of time to go skiing. Don’t know how to ski? It’s ok, they have special passes that include lessons. You can book these online, or when you get into Queenstown. If you have no interest in Skiing at all, don’t worry as there are still a ton of adventures and activities during the festival to keep your entertained.

Top Picks for Winter Pride Queenstown

(We’ll update with places, dates and times and additional events as they are announced)

• Gay Ski Week Opening Party – The opening party generally includes free drinks, nibbles and Dj Haylenise – guaranteed that this party will be a wild night.
• Anchor’s Away – The main event on the second night is normally a massive boat party. Head out for an unforgettable evening on the Spirit of Queenstown. The boat will have fantastic music and drinks onboard.
• Queer Quiz Night– Tired from the slopes? Hungover from the wild parties? Quiz Night will be a fun, yet, relaxing night to recharge your batteries and get ready for the rest of the week.
• Comedy Night – Is there anything better than a few drinks, a live comic, and a few laughs with friends? Neil Thornton is this year’s comic, so the show is bound to be hilarious.
• Loco Queenstown’s Foam Party – Get ready for one of the craziest parties of the week. Head to Loco Cantina to join in the soapy madness of the evening. The Foam Party is going to be one of the craziest nights of the entire week.
• Closing Party – You know the closing party of Gay Ski Week is going to be insane. In the past the closing night has been themed, the Heroes and Villains theme was awesome!

Where to stay? Nomads Queenstown

Tickets

These are the main events of Gay Ski Week in Queenstown. There are also packages, like the Event Passes, which offer exclusive access to other parties and activities for the festival. Gay Ski week is going to be a fun and exciting time. The city will be alive with events and parties. Make sure to follow this guide to get the most out of the week.

For more information about the Ski Season see our guide to Skiing and Snowboarding in Queenstown, or you may like our tips to the best free or cheap things to do in Queenstown.