AWARD WINNING QUEENSTOWN HERITAGE AND ARTS FESTIVAL …

… OFFICIAL PROGRAM LAUNCH, FINE ART AUCTION AND GALA EVENING HELD LAST NIGHT – SATURDAY 30 AUGUST
IN QUEENSTOWN

OFFICIAL PROGRAM LAUNCH

The Award Winning Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival (10-12 October 2014, held every two years) launched their 2014 festival program at an extravagant gala evening held last night (Saturday 30 August, evening).

Over 300 people attended the Gala Evening – Which also included a Fine Art Auction – and saw the launch of the third program by the Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival.

The Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival is still only relatively new. The upcoming 2014 festival (10-12 October, 2014, in Queenstown) is only the third installment from the organiser’s of the festival. Despite being a new festival, the last Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival was the winner of six prestigious awards, including taking out the ‘Festivals and Events’ category at the prestigious Tasmanian Tourism Awards.

The festival has quickly established itself as a provider of authentic, hand crafted experiences that delivers participants with a ‘money can’t buy’ experience, dabbling in fine art, fine food, entertainment and a place to visit like no other. The recent events in Queenstown have been difficult for many residents, the Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival is an important moral boost for the Queenstown and West Coast community.

Last night (Saturday 30th August) the 2014 program was launched. The upcoming 2014 festival is appropriately themed ‘The Power of Water’ and the entire festival is tied to the centenary of the commissioning of the Lake Margaret Hydro Electric Power Station (near Queenstown), Australia’s oldest working Hydro Electric Station.

The festival runs over three days – starting on Friday 10th October and finishing on the evening of Sunday 12 October. Activities include discounted guided tours of Lake Margaret and the Queenstown area, trips aboard the West Coast Wilderness Railway’, live poetry readings, films at the Paragon Theatre, and discounted helicopter rides.

The festival launches on the Friday night (10 October) with a fantastic opening ceremony titled ‘The Angel of the West’. The ceremony is an uplifting community event that aims to raise hope and generate a ‘new beginning’ message as created by local school children and local residents in a moving lantern parade through Queenstown’s main street. The Angel is a 5m tall lantern and will lead a progression of 50 (smaller) lanterns and a 40 member children’s choir.

KEY FEATURES FROM THE PROGRAM

• Undercurrents – A 3D Projection that is mapped to the architecture of the Empire Hotel, interpreting the hydro-electric industry through interactive animation, presented in partnership with Hydro Tasmania
• The Water Circus – A creative recreation of the social history of Lake Margaret through performances, actors, shadow puppetry and projection, presented in partnership with Hydro Tasmania
• ‘I think I can’, an installation featuring puppetry and audience participation. Using an ‘in progress’ 1960’s Queenstown Rail model as inspiration, visitors are invited to engage and play by becoming a temporary resident via a tiny puppet, engaging participants in an optimistic task of collective storytelling that deals with dynamic notions of residency and responsibility. This particular installation is generously supported by the Terrapin Puppet Theatre.
• 100 Years of Hydro – A public exhibition that tells the story of 100 years of future thinking, 100 years of Hydro Tasmania
• Discounted Mt Lyell underground tours, Mt Lyell surface tours and ‘Lost Mines and Ancient Pines’, presented in partnership with Queenstown Heritage Tours
• Live poetry reading in the Queenstown HUB
• West Coat Shindig – restaurateur’s serving hot food on Friday and Saturday (10, 11 October) under the awnings of the Queenstown pubs. A large marquee will be placed in Orr Street and completely transform the main street into a huge celebration of food, drink and friends.

The West Coast Singers again return to the Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival and have similarly developed songs based upon the West Coast’s Hydro Electric history. The ‘West Coast Singers’ are presented in partnership with Hydro Tasmania.

In partnership with Constance ARI, the Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival are excited to introduce five established artists who have been specifically commissioned to produce artworks relating to the festival’s overarching theme ‘The Power of Water’. These works will be installed at the Lake Margaret site.

Official copies will be available to download from our website www.qhaf.org for members of the public sometime next week.
Leigh Styles | Marketing Coordinator, Travis Tiddy l Festival Director