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COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES ENHANCE MICHAEL HILL NZ OPENArrowtown will be hosting a street on Saturday 14 of March. The event is expected to attract large crowds and underlines New Zealand Golf’s aim to create a distinctive event, by incorporating community activities which enhance the tournament. New Zealand Golf chief executive Bill MacGowan says the long term vision is to grow the NZ Open into a significant event. “The inaugural NZ Open at The Hills in 2007 incorporated novel ideas such as Main Street with its bars, restaurants and cafes on the course, which had a lot of appeal for people who did not want to join the golf galleries. We are now working towards providing a variety of non- golfing activities in Queenstown and Arrowtown which will be held in tandem with the Open.” “This year’s event will see a number of those activities in place and the idea is to build on this for the future, ultimately creating a week long festival to encourage visitors to come to the area as part of NZ Open week.” The Arrowtown street party will be staged on Saturday March 14 and co-ordinator Julie Hughes says it is designed to attract people into Arrowtown for a Mardi Gras style street party. “There will be food, wine tasting and music. Local groups will use the opportunity to fundraise by providing stalls and artists who will be working on the village green throughout the day will display their work.” “Bands will begin playing at 5.00pm and include the Arrowtown Festival Miners’ Band, well known local bands Middle Earth and the Master Blasters, providing a versatile range of entertainment.” The street party will conclude with a spectacular fire show by Flame Fire Productions. The Queenstown Resort College is also offering a series of courses during the NZ Open including wine experience, barista skills and gourmet chocolate making. “These short courses are run by highly skilled and experienced tutors,” says QRC chief executive Charlie Phillips. “We have a demonstration suite at our new purpose built college where we can offer this range of stimulating learning experiences. Each course combines tuition with hands-on activities and in the case of the wine experience a visit to a Central Otago winery.” “Queenstown Resort College is a pioneer in ‘edu-tourism’ or educational based tourism and our short courses are tailormade as non-golf activities for people who are visiting the region for the NZ Open but are keen to get involved in other pursuits.” Downtown in Queenstown the Guilty Bar, once the resort’s original court house, is the official NZ Open bar and will be themed to reflect the association. “The bar will be Heineken/golf green and we will have a green carpet outside leading in to the 19th hole,” says promotions and event manager Hollis Heidelberg. “Tournament flags and memorabilia will be used around the bar, our staff will be dressed in golf clothing and our big screen televisions will feature NZ Open golf.” Players, caddies, sponsors, media and NZ Open visitors are being encouraged to use the Guilty Bar as a headquarters and special deals will be offered. A “Cut Party” for those players who do not make the NZ Open cut will be staged on Friday March 13. New Zealand Golf has paid tribute to the community for its support to ensure visitors to the Open can participate in a range of activities and experiences. “There is no other golf tournament like the NZ Open in Australasia and we plan to continue to increase its profile through non-golf activities,” says Mr MacGowan. “We certainly have some other very exciting proposals which are being put in place for the 2010 event.” FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: NZ GOLF - Laura Wilby - 0214 70048www.nzgolf.org.nz ARROWTOWN STREET PARTY – Julie Hughes 0276331252 QUEENSTOWN RESORT COLLEGE- Charlie Phillips 03 4411690 www.queenstownresortcollege.com GUILTY BAR –Hollis Heidelberg 027 555 8904
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