Party Time!

The Portes du Soleil is going BIG this winter with 3 fantastic festivals to keep us all entertained. Get these dates in your diaries quick sharp.

The Basscamp Festival, Morzine - 2nd - 6th April 2012

Following on from his wildly successful après gigs at Le Tremplin last winter, local DJ Justin Bull (single - he asked us to put that in) is cranking things up a couple of thousand decibels this winter. If you were one of the hundreds of d&b (that’s drum and bass my friends... welcome to the sound of your winter in Morzine) fans stomping all over Le Tremplin terrace last winter, then you’ll need to buy a Basscamp Festival wristband to get the most from your winter season.

With big international acts such as The Correspondents, Foamo, Thomas Gandey, Benny Page and Slipmatt mixing up house, electro, D&B and dubstep already on an ever-expanding line-up, wristbands are selling like hot cakes. They are just €100 each and give you access to all the après, night time and late night gigs, free entry into ski and snowboard competitions and stacks more besides. On the final day of the festival there’ll be a ginormous fancy dress, 80’s inspired street party slap bang in the centre of Morzine. We’ve never seen anything like it before.

For more information on the Basscamp Festival and to grab a discounted seasonaire wristband go to www.basscamp-festival.com

Avoriaz Night Parties - 28th Jan - 10th Feb 2012

Attracting attention and pulling in punters from across Europe, the Avoriaz Night Parties are becoming something of a mountain legend. And when Avoriaz starts to party, it doesn’t stop for a full 2 weeks! Some of the biggest DJ’s in electronic music will be in attendance, flocking to Avoriaz from as far afield as Berlin, Paris, Barcelona and Moscow. There are 50 separate nighttime events during the Avoriaz Party Nights festival, including outdoor après ski sessions, warm up parties in resort bars and banging club nights until the wee hours of the morning. The nights are also themed, we suspect by someone with a big imagination! Will you go out on Yeti Night? Or will you wait until Snowstorm Night? We suspect that most of Avoriaz will be in attendance for Singles Night (for the laugh if nothing else) but will you then still be able to make it to Ski Instructors’ Night? Or perhaps you’ll make it to them all? We’d highly recommend making the effort.

For more information on the Avoriaz Night Parties go to www.avoriaz.com

The Ebouelle Contest, Les Gets, 20th - 24th March 2012

Back for another year of music and snow sports madness, the Ebouelle Contest is Les Gets’ big resort-wide festival. It is a mix of snow sports, international music and graphic arts. Ski and snowboard test events, exhibitions and workshops pack the festival programme each day, followed by big party nights at 3 Zebra Bar and the Igloo Chalet Club each night. Amateur and professional skiers and snowboarders compete alongside each other in jib, road gap and airbag competitions, all with the accompaniment of piste- side bands. There’ll also be a huge stage in the centre of Les Gets, on which live bands and DJs will get the resort shaking! Last year an art contest was added to the wider Ebouelle Contest and it returns this year. Groups of artists are given a creative kit made up of usual materials, with which they must create a symbol of the contest and Les Gets.

For more information on the Les Gets Ebouelle Contest go to www.ebouelle-contest.com