The famous Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers has hit the halfway mark, and with over 176,000 seedlings and bulbs blooming beautifully, the city is a canvas of colour, flavour and music. A definite must-see this week is the inaugural NIGHT Garden powered by Ergon Energy in Queens Park from Wednesday evening, while Laurel Bank Park is set to star this weekend with shows, movies and more!
Cr Geoff McDonald said the Carnival had a wonderful opening weekend and continues to grow from strength the strength ahead of the 70th anniversary next year.
"It’s been an amazing opening weekend with the Heritage Bank Festival of Food & Wine kicking off in Queens Park and again reaching capacity on Saturday nights with sold out signs going up. Hundreds of thousands enjoyed the brilliant Spring sunshine over the weekend, lining the streets for the city’s famous Grand Central Floral Parade. Spring is definitely in the air, and there is still do much to see and do," he said.
Must-sees and must-dos for the second half of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers include:
A History
Since its inception in 1949, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers has flourished and is now an iconic Queensland event. The brainchild of Essex Tait and the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce, Carnival was introduced as a way for the city to use their "Garden City" reputation to promote increased economic activity following the hardships of war. On October 21, 1950 the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers commenced with a street procession that stretched three miles in length. Led by a bullock team and watched by a crowd estimated to be 50,000 strong, it was a resounding success. The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is the current title holder of Gold Award for Major Festival and Event at the annual Australian Tourism Awards. Last year attendances across the 10-day event skyrocketed, with overall figures up by 29 per cent with 255,639 attendees recorded.
Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers
September 21 to 30, 2018
Program, tour information and accommodation detail at www.tcof.com.au or on www.facebook.com.au/CarnivalFlowers
