Floriade, Australia’s biggest celebration of spring, returns to Commonwealth Park in Canberra from Saturday 14 September until Sunday 13 October. This year’s theme, World in Bloom, will be showcased through designs across 21 flowerbeds and more than 189 portable raised flowerbeds positioned throughout the park, alongside a brimming program of live entertainment, food, drinks and market stalls.
Following the success of an increased local produce focus in 2019, Floriade has renewed its partnership with Canberra award winning restaurateurs Pialligo Estate to run Floriade’s main cafe space with their Pialligo Urban offering. Other returning partnerships include local favourites Capital Brewing Co. as the beer partner, Contentious Character as the wine partner and Underground Spirits as the festival’s gin partner.
Floriade’s foodie offerings will continue into the evenings for NightFest (3 October to 6 October), including a soon-to-be-announced night feast offering from Pialligo Estate. Visitors are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy after-dark offerings from a wider range of food traders than in previous years.
These partnerships showcase the best of the Canberra region’s award-winning food and beverages at one of our biggest annual tourism events, with more than 500,000 visitors expected to walk through the gates during the 30-day festival.
For the littlest family members, there is an extensive program of interactive and creative activities on offer at Floriade. Head along on Sunday 15 September and join Australian children’s’ authors Mick Elliott and Oliver Phommavanh as they face off on stage in the ultimate storytelling battle to celebrate Australian Reading Hour. The Kidz Klub will be returning, offering free activities over the weekends and school holidays, the National Museum of Australia will be celebrating the arrival of DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition by bringing DreamWorks characters to Floriade with meet and greets and Libraries ACT are hosting a range of events across the festival period including bilingual storytime.
Program information can be found on the website, floriadeaustralia.com, with more events announced in the coming weeks.
For those looking for some hands-on activities, Floriade offers a range of ticketed and free workshops including making beeswax wraps, creating your own kokedama, ikebana or terrarium, weekend photography classes and more; or join a daily garden tour with a member of Floriade’s horticultural team and find out about the making of Floriade.
Floriade wraps up on Sunday 13 October with the always popular Dogs’ Day Out. All pups, big and small, are invited to soak up the sunshine and explore Floriade with special pup-friendly activities and entertainment throughout the day.
