Summer is a fantastic time to visit New Zealand with long leisurely days lunching at the waterfront, gourmet beach picnics overlooking secluded bays, cruising on yachts, al fresco festivals, plenty of sunshine and great Kiwi wine!
Black Label Experience have our finger on the pulse of what’s hot for events during summer; please get in touch if you would like to attend any of these events as we have access to tickets and VIP packages – read our list below and enjoy your summer.
Summer Events & Festivals in New Zealand
Founded in 2003, Rhythm and Vines hosted at Waiohika Estate in Gisborne from 29-31 December 2016 has the global honour of being the first festival in the world to welcome in the first sunrise of the new year.
New Zealand’s answer to Glastonbury, it’s a great place for New Year’s celebrations and with sponsors including Red Bull, Corona and Smirnoff you know everything is well organised for festival goers. The line up includes Chance the Rapper, Kimbra and Hot Chip. The 3-day passes have sold out but you can contact us for Vintage Club Premium Passes including glamping and teepee packages.
Kimbra will play at Rhythm and Vines 2016
Rhythm and Alps is the sister festival of Rhythm and Vines and is hosted in the stunning setting of lakeside town Wanaka in the South Island from 30-31 December 2016. The line up includes Six60, Pitch Black and The Upbeats with VIP Experiences available for festival goers.
Taking centre court at the ASB Tennis Arena in Auckland’s Parnell, the worlds of fashion, food and sport collide as the crème de la crème of tennis players including four recent former No 1 women tennis champions will feature at the ASB Classic Tennis from 2-17 January 2017.
Join tennis spectators and global media as top players including the Williams sisters Venus and Serena are joined by glamour girls Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki. The men’s tennis is just as thrilling with multiple ASB Classic champions David Ferrer and Jon Isner joining defending champion Roberto-Bautista Agut.
The opportunity to see these magnificent players in action is too good to miss and with the stadium all but sold out, Black Label Experience has all-inclusive packages with food and beverage and premium seats in the Redwood Stand.
ASB Classic 2017 will feature top players during January
Horse enthusiasts from near and far are already eagerly anticipating the 2017 Karaka sales held in south Auckland. Karaka always features some of the world’s finest pedigrees and the progeny of a host of global powerhouse sires who claim some of the most coveted races in Australasia – the Melbourne Cup, Emirates Stakes, Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Victorian Derby, Australian Derby and Australian Oaks.
The Karaka Million Twilight Meeting is scheduled for 29 January 2017, with the National Yearling Sales happening from 30 January to 05 February 2017 with Premier, Select and Festival Sales. As well as premium hospitality, Black Label can help clients with pre-sale inspections, NZ stud farm tours, high-end accommodation in Auckland and other NZ destinations and private transfers.
Karaka Million and the National Yearling Sales 2017
Held every four years, Pinot Noir 2017 will run for 3 days from 31 January 2017 on the Wellington waterfront. The event will bring together 117 producers from New Zealand’s diverse Pinot Noir producing regions to showcase over 300 wines, attracting some of the greatest international minds on the subject of Pinot Noir. It will provide an unparalleled insight into the New Zealand wine scene. Notable attendees will be Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan (MJK), himself a winemaker, as well as keynote speakers Jancis Robinson OBE MW and Ken Ohashi MW.
Iconic Eden Park will come alive on the weekend of Saturday 4 February and Sunday 5 February 2017 when the stands will be filled with non-stop entertainment and a carnival atmosphere for the 2017 Downer NRL Nines. This exciting 2-day event sees 9-players take to the field for 9-minute halves with star players from all 16 NRL teams present for the tournament. Black Label has corporate hospitality options as well as deluxe accommodation for fans from out of Auckland.
Napier is the Art Deco capital of New Zealand and will welcome visitors to the Tremain’s Art Deco Festival, held from 15-17 February 2017. Get your glad rags out for a stylish step back in time as the town turns back the clocks with vintage cars, speakeasy performers, burlesque shows and plenty of toe-tapping jazz.
Sub-events that Black Label Experience can help clients arrange tickets for during this popular festival include the Sileni Estates Opening Soirée, Trinity Hill Black Tie Dinner, the Beach Banquet and Gatsby Picnic both sponsored by Air New Zealand, Speakeasy Burlesque, A Little Party Never Killed Nobody dinner at the Old Church restaurant and the Dilmah High Tea Affair.
Tremains Art Deco Festival in Napier
La Longue Table du Chef on 17 February 2017 is Auckland’s biggest French street dinner. The street will be closed between upper Vulcan Lane between High Street and O’Connell Street in central Auckland to welcome 120 diners to one long table for an evening of French cuisine and wine.
Chef for the event, Grant Kitchen started as an apprentice at the ParkRoyal Hotel in Wellington, cooking for the Sultan of Brunei, Prime Ministers and other VIPs. He judges at Culinary Events around NZ and is a Member of the NZ Chefs Association. Dinner guests will receive an entrée, main, cheese and dessert with a complimentary glass of Veuve du Vernay brut Rosé on arrival, as well as entertainment and live music through the evening. Contact us if you would like to join this event or arrange luxury transfers or accommodation for the night in Auckland city.
Located in the beautiful Tapapakanga Park, the 3-day Splore Festival has one of the world’s best festival settings and will be held from 17-19 February 2017. Black Label Experience is proud to support Splore Festival and can offer our clients glamping packages with VIP tickets. Don’t miss this fantastic music and arts festival with a line up that will include Dub Pistols, Greg Churchill, Skye & Ross, Beardyman and Hollie Smith.
Splore Festival has an unrivalled setting for a music and arts festival
Polo enthusiasts can look no further than the beautiful Clevedon countryside on Sunday 19 February 2017 when the Land Rover NZ Polo Open unites the elite for a prestigious event of polo followed by an after party with DJ’s and refreshments. This is the social and sporting event of Auckland’s summer, and Black Label Experience has VIP Hospitality Marquee packages with fine wine and cuisine or for groups VIP Boot Park tickets.
The closing weekend in February will be exciting for polo fans as 2 polo events set the stage for fast-paced action on Saturday 25 February 2017. The Heineken Urban Polo will be played at Shore Road Reserve in Remuera, and beautiful Waiheke Island will play host to Waiheke Beach Polo set to bring global action to the shores of Onetangi Beach. The Waiheke Beach Polo will be a first for Auckland, and sure to be a glamorous tournament modelled on events held in exotic locations across Europe, Asia and The United Arab Emirates. Get in touch with us today for VIP hospitality options and wine and food packages for Waiheke Island.
The World Master Games are a multi-sport event held every 4 years with a minimum age criteria of over 35 years of age (some sports allow participants younger than 35 years of age). The 9th World Master Games will be held in Auckland from 21 to 30 April 2017 and feature 28 sports with athletes visiting the event from 100 countries. Some of the sports include Athletics (Cross Country, Road, Tack & Field), Badminton, Cycling, Golf, Netball, Rowing, Rugby, Sailing, Swimming and Tennis. Black Label looks forward to welcoming athletes here for the World Masters Games and are at your disposal for accommodation, sightseeing and transfers.
The World Masters Games will be hosted in Auckland in April 2017
Please contact us today to discuss packages or tickets for these fantastic summer events.