 FLOWER POWER
One of the best events we attended in 2007 was Floriade, Canberra’s iconic annual floral extravaganza, a month-long over-the-top celebration of springtime. This year Floriade 21 runs from September 13 to October 12. We’re talking serious flower numbers here – a million-plus bulbs, mostly tulips, and a kaleidoscope of annuals planted in profusion over the four hectare site.
To make Floriade’s 21st birthday sensational, the theme ‘Films that Shaped our Nation’ has been chosen this year. Expect to see displays featuring Babe, Happy Feet, Priscilla, Muriel’s Wedding and more. If nothing else, come to have the chance of walking down the Red Carpet flanked by crimson blooms.
As if the green-thumbed organisers needed to include another angle, this year Floriade NightFest is a brand new addition running from Wednesday, September 24 to Sunday, September 28 in five nights of entertainment, film screenings, night markets, food and wine. Set against a stunning landscape of glowing lanterns, twinkling fairy lights and floodlit flower beds, it promises to show off Floriade in a totally different way. A program of specially selected short films and one feature film will screen on a huge outdoor cinema screen over the five nights, as well as live music and roving entertainment.
Last year around 395, 000 visitors attended Floriade. Who knows – this floral ‘brush with fame’ might see even more this year.
More information on Floriade is available at: www.floriadeaustralia.com Tourist Information: 1300 727 655 or www.visitcanberra.com.au
(Cick here to view 2007 gallery)
  Well it’s pretty much over for another year. The tulips are casting their last petals, and the teams of gardeners are clearing it all away. Soon the call will go out for people to come and dig the bulbs, then buy them for a tiny amount so they can have Canberra’s Floriade blooms in their own gardens next spring.
Floriade has to be one of the most generous displays mounted by any city, anywhere in the world. Entrance is free, and the hectares of garden beds, packed with brilliant slabs of colour or intricate designs – over a million bulbs and annuals – seem to go on forever. What a gift to the nation! (Cick here to view gallery)
We visited early in the event, just as it was hitting its peak. See for yourself and plan to make it there next year. www.floriadeaustralia.com
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