The pretty village of Hanmer Springs is about to become even more picturesque for its first Winter Festival in July.

For the entire month the alpine village will be a hive of wintry activities and events including drive-in movies, a Masquerade Ball, a yoga retreat and much more.

Visit Hurunui marketing manager Shane Adcock says other highlights include a Winter Christmas Lights competition, a Canterbury vs Tasman rugby game, mid-winter Fête and a 10km night run for kids.

“The ice rink will be set up undercover in the grounds of the historic Queen Mary Hospital and skaters will be able to show their skills to music under disco lights. We expect dozens of properties to take part in the lights competition which will transform the village to a winter wonderland.”

Catherine Batterson and Abby France are working on another drawcard. They created the Hanmer Springs Fête in 2019 and will be creating a mid-winter version this year.

“We attracted 3,000 people to the last Hanmer Springs Fête and expect this mid-winter version to be just as popular. It’s going to be a great excuse to hit the Hurunui which will be bustling over the month of July – we can’t wait,” says Catherine.

Shane says he can’t guarantee there will be snow come July but he does promise fresh alpine air.

“Our village is coming together for an event like never before – we’re all excited and dusting off our Christmas lights and jerseys. We’d love to see Kiwis from all over join us for the fun.”

For more details visit: visithurunui.co.nz/events/

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