The new Queenstown Lakes District Council Summer Festival is to be called 'Summerdaze', organisers announced this week.

Festival managers Alastair and Diana McIlwrick have been working with Queenstown-Lakes District Council Special Projects Manager Lee Harris, graphic designer Tim Buckley of Fluid Design and a team from Queenstown company Gifted, headed by Jaya Gibson, to come up with a name.

"We think Summerdaze encapsulates all that's good about our summer events - it's a fun word, a play on the word 'days', and it evokes a laidback, cruisy, community feeling " these feelings are the essence of the festival," Ms Harris said.

The Summerdaze programme will be finalised by the end of October and the programme put together, printed and distributed by late November.  People who want to list their events under Summerdaze (December 17 - January 23) should contact Alastair McIlwrick on 03 442 4412 in the next fortnight.

"We're incorporating events right around the Queenstown Lakes District and it's looking pretty exciting now," Mr McIlwrick said.

He would still like to hear from any primary or secondary school students who are aspiring buskers to perform in and around the district during Summerdaze.

"We've heard from lots of people who are thinking of doing things - now we need to know the names and dates of their events because we want to include them in our programme," Mr McIlwrick said.

Any community associations, walking or historical groups interested in hosting a walk somewhere in the district over Summerdaze should also get in touch.

"Let's make this a festival to remember - for locals, by locals!" he said.

ENDS

For further information contact Lee Harris, Special Projects Manager on 027 233 7934 or Alastair McIlwrick on 03 442 4412 or 027 450 2624.

By: Kiri