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Winter Pride 2022 took over Queenstown from 26 August to 4 September offering a diverse range of events to Queenstown locals and travellers. 

Winter Pride Director Martin King tells us his biggest challenge putting on the festival is, “organising an event in a small town with no queer bars and having to work with a wide range of partners to ‘take over’ venues and make them 100% queer safe spaces. We do this through staff training, partnering with police, security, and other authorities.”
Now based full-time in Auckland, King says, “not living there anymore makes this that much more challenging for us, and especially for myself and husband Mike as we have a teenage son who has complex disabilities, so we have to make many sacrifices and rely on family to support.”
 
These challenges are not apparent to attendees however as the meticulously organised festival goes off without a hitch. King tells us his favourite event is, “Ski Charity Race day at Coronet Peak, because it brings community together, it’s full of rainbows, and we raise money for charity.”
 
Winter Pride‘s success has inspired others in the community and Queenstown will now host an additional Summer Pride festival, Adrenaline, in February.
 
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