Blooming fun for families!
It’s Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers time and there’s oodles of fun to be had, petals!
The famous Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers features over 80 amazing events from 13 September to 7 October, with the theme, It’s A Party…. because ….. this is the 75th anniversary of the event!! So calling all families, it’s time to play in the petals! Imagery here
Seventy five years ago a bullock team led a street procession that stretched three miles in length through Toowoomba. This was the first Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, and now it’s the best major event in the nation (thank you Qantas Australian Tourism Awards).
A MUST VISIT is Queens Park Botanic Gardens and Laurel Bank– there’s amazing flower displays and jaw-dropping blooms. In fact, there’s over 37.2 million petals across all of Toowoomba’s parks in the city and Spring Bluff!! Can you imagine counting them!!
Toowoomba Regional Council gardeners plant over 190,000 flowers every year for this event – how cool!
Heres’ the top 10 things for families this year at Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers:
- The Grand Central Floral Parade has the theme It’s A Party, and with almost 100 participant groups, it will be the biggest parade ever! It’s on Saturday 21 September from 10am and will be spectacular – arrive early for a front row spot!
- The Teddy Bears’ Picnic is now a four-day kids’ event at Empire Theatre by Thrive on Arts from Thursday 26 to Sunday 29 September. BYO Teddy!
- The Ferris Wheel in the Botanic Gardens gives everyone the best blooming views over all the petals!! It runs from Friday 13 September to Sunday 22 September from, 9am to 6pm. And guess what!! You can take well behaved dogs on board – that’s PAWSOME!
- Thrills, Spills and Daffodils! It’s Sideshow Alley, its adrenaline avenue meets extreme street! Head to lower Queens Park, for thrill seeking rides, fairy floss, dagwood dogs and shows bags! Have a shot at winning a top shelf prize at one of the sideshow games or take in the bird’s- eye view upside down from the heart stopping 360 degree ride. Sideshow Alley runs from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 September with live entertainment too.
- Cinema Under the Stars returns on Saturday 28 September, this year, in Peacehaven Botanic Park, Highfields. Pack a blanket and watch movies under the stars!
- The Itty Bitty Grand Central Floral Parade allows those that can’t participate in the main parade event to showcase their creativity, community spirit and love of Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers… in miniature! It’s on display at Grand Central Shopping Centre from Saturday 14 to Monday 30 September – make sure you take a look, it’s very cool!
- There’s 50 Community Events, from Bricks in Bloom, a floral LEGO expo, to the fabulous Hanging Baskets at Cobb+Co Museum, Alice in Wonderland-inspired Fairy Garden activities, a Carnival of Trains, Behind the Curtain Tours at the Empire Theatre and so much more!
- The Festival of Food & Wine (Friday 13 to Sunday 15 September) is fab for music and food loving kids. With a dedicated kids area, grown-ups can have a great time too.
- For foodie families, #trEATS, the regional food trail, returns with a record number of bites. All inspired by the petals of course!
- Symphony Under the Stars will be performed by the full Queensland Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Chief Conductor Umberto Clerici in his first trip to the Garden City on Friday 4 October. This will be a very special event for all the family!
There’s so much more, make sure you check out tcof.com.au for all the information, directions, itineraries and more.
Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers 2024
13 September to 7 October
tcof.com.au
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 its “Garden City” reputation to promote increased economic activity following the hardships of war. On 21 October 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, as it has been ever since.
For more information contact Kath Rose & Associates on 0416 291 493 or kath@kathrose.com
