Oceania Events: Canberra Floriade
Travel to Australia's best flower display in September/ October
Head on holiday to Commonwealth Park on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin for a floral show, music and entertainment of the highest quality
The Floriade is Australia’s premier display of floral beauty, and while it’s on, the Australian capital turns into a patchwork quilt of colour. Over one million bulbs are planted across Canberra, as the city into life.
Heralding the start of spring, the festival is more to do with art than horticulture, and some of the arrangements are dazzlingly intricate. In Commonwealth Park, right on the shoreline of Lake Burley Griffin, spare patches of grass are converted to blooming flower beds and wonderful works of green-fingered creativity.
A statement from the organizers says: “Floriade is Australia’s premier spring festival and a world-class floral spectacular! Over one million blooms create a stunning backdrop to a month long festival filled with music, cultural celebrations, artistic displays, entertainment and recreational activities.
“Floriade runs for one exciting month from mid September to mid October and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. This vibrant festival presents an amazing and ever changing visual display that makes a single visit never enough. Visitors who want the full experience of Floriade should take the time to visit a number of times to see the different flowers in bloom, enjoy the fabulous entertainment program and attend some of the great information seminars and workshops.”
Arguably the best thing about it, however, is that it is free to enter. In other cities, the displays would be carefully guarded behind high fences, but not here. Canberra is putting on its best show free of charge, and it’s no wonder that people flock from across the world to come and see it.
It’s not just flowers either – during the festival, entertainers roam the grounds of the park, doing everything from making balloon animals to displaying talented musicianship. There is also a Look and Learn Marquee where you can learn about flower arranging and gardening in general, so it’s not just pretty to look at, but educational too.
Floriade began in 1988 as a celebration of Canberra’s 75th birthday, and it is getting bigger and stronger every year. The word Floriade comes from the Latin word 'floriat', meaning 'to design with flowers'. The name was inspired by other flower festivals held in the Netherlands, called Keukenhof and Floriade.
2007 dates: 15th September – 14th October.
