Ashburton people are being urged to head to the hills at least once over the next four days as the town of Methven helps Mt Hutt Skifield celebrate its 50th birthday.

The party kicks off on Thursday night with entertainment in Methven from 5pm, with a tractor parade at 7pm and a lantern parade at 7.30pm. The official opening haere mai happens at 7.45pm and then Kiwi rock band Dragon will play from 8pm.

Deputy mayor Liz McMillan will be in the crowd joining the celebrations. She came to live in Methvenn in 1994 to manage Ski Express and was based in the Mt Hutt office for four seasons.

"I instantly felt at home in Methven and have always loved the connection between the mountain and the town. While I don't get up to ski as much as I would like nowadays, it's still my happy place."

She said Mt Hutt skifield has had such huge, positive impact on Methven and on the Ashburton District in general and so it’s great to be part of the birthday fun.

“NZ Ski has invested not only in the skifield, but in Methven, and our town has grown into a multi-cultural, happy tourist spot that has in turn encouraged all sorts of visitors to check out this spectacular part of New Zealand.

“Happy birthday Mt Hutt, I say, and many more.”

Friday’s celebrations include the Mad Hutters Tea Party, to be held at the Methven Rugby Club from 5.30pm, where there is an open invitation to the community and all Mt Hutt Alumni to share their stories.

Saturday features the White Out music festival and the mountain will be open on Sunday for moonlight skiing.

Council is lending entertainment support by providing an inflatable ice rink, that will be free to the public on Thursday night, then open from 1pm-6pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Curling is available on Friday and Sunday nights, and the rink will host a family disco on Saturday night.

“This is one way the Council is supporting Methven and the Mt Hutt celebrations, and hopefully our temporary ice rink will encourage more people to give the real thing a try at Staveley.”

Some roads around Methven are temporarily closed for the opening night parades, so please follow traffic management signs if you head up, and dress warmly.