Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers has beaten a line-up of the best major festivals and events across the state to take the crown for Queensland’s Best Major Festival or Event for an incredible fourth year in a row.
In accepting the highly-contested award at the 2018 Queensland Tourism Awards held on the Gold Coast, Toowoomba Regional Council, Environment and Community portfolio Chair Cr Geoff McDonald said it truly cemented Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers’ place in the record books and highlighted the power of regional events in Queensland. “On behalf of the Toowoomba Regional Council, the people of Toowoomba and the over 250,000 people who attended our stunning event, thank you! What a coup for regional events and regional Queensland!” he said.
“Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers celebrated 69 years in 2018 with record numbers attending the public park floral displays and private gardens. The power of flowers is growing stronger every year, and we would like to acknowledge the extraordinary result our gardeners and Carnival team achieved throughout particularly harsh drought conditions this year,” he said. “2018 has been a milestone year already for us – record numbers were reached, with 174 inbound coach groups registered attending the event, providing a huge direct spending impact to our region. In addition, the event took out the Gold award for Major Festivals and Events for the second year in a row at the Australian Tourism Awards held in Perth in February. This year the program included over 66 events and over 74 tours over the 10 days, not to mention the 176,000 annuals and bulbs that were planted in April in the parks and public spaces that bloomed perfectly just for ‘Carnival.”
Toowoomba Region Mayor Paul Antonio said the event was a flagship for the community. “Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers brings together so many wonderful volunteers and passionate community members. Over 2000 amazing volunteers support make the event what it is each year. This level of support is a credit to the nature of our very strong community spirit. The community warmly welcomes visitors, friends and family into their homes, gardens and lives and I am very proud of how the entire region prepares for months beforehand to ensure we are looking our best each September! I invite everyone to help us celebrate our 70th year in 2019 from 20 to 29 September, book your accommodation now and stay a few nights to really soak up the atmosphere and spring delights!”
Readers also enjoyed seeing the Socials from the Queensland Tourism Awards on Indulge Magazine.