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Events Fund
We're committed to supporting a balanced portfolio of events across the district. This includes providing an annual contestable events fund that is open for both commercial and community events.
Quick links
2026-2027 Events Fund
The 2026-2027 Events Fund is for people looking to organise events that benefit the community. The fund is open to both commercial and community-level events. It supports events that are committed to environmental sustainability, economic impact, event diversity, and positive community benefits.
Applications for this funding round are open from 1-30 April 2026. Applications should be made through our
new Smartygrants platform
See a list of recipients for the Events Fund 2025-2026 and fund guidelines below:
Previous Fund Recipients
Our 2024-2025 events funding recipients were:
$30,000 and over
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Challenge Wānaka $30,000
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LUMA Light Festival $35,000
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Queenstown Marathon $32,100
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Wānaka Festival of Colour $30,000
Under $30,000
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Ripe – Wānaka Wine and Food Festival $25,000
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Wānaka A & P Show $25,000
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Wheels at Wānaka 2025 $20,000
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Arrowtown Autumn Festival $20,000
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Winter Games NZ $20,000
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NZ Golf Open $20,000
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Proving Grounds (mountain biking event) $20,000
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Motatapu $20,000
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Lake Hayes A & P Show $15,000
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NZ Junior Rugby – Global Games $15,000
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The WILD (trail running event) $15,000
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Wao Summit $12,000
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Central Lakes Polyfest $10,000
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Queenstown Multicultural Festival $10,000
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NZ Mountain Film Festival $5,000
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OUT & About Wānaka $5,000
We continue to work in partnership with our sustainability and climate action teams to develop and support events' sustainability measures.