John Farnham and his iconic voice are slated to headline The Heritage Bank Festival of Food & Wine at the 70th Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers. Over 10 days, close to 300,000 people will attend more than 77 events taking place including a floral street procession.
The 70th program launch was officially unveiled by Cr Geoff McDonald with some very special people in attendance.
Toowoomba City Cr Geoff Mc Donald said, “What makes Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers so special is that there is so much to experience – if you love emerging music, we have that. If you are a gardener, we have plenty! I f you are a foodie, then prepare for flavour overload. If you love a low and slow BBQ with a beer to match, that’s easy! If you are here for gardening tips and tricks, then take a seat. If wine is your thing, then choose a colour! If you want to learn the history of our classic pubs, take in a steam train ride, experience a Tombstone Tour, be wowed by an amazing teapot exhibition or be surrounded by hanging flower baskets, then we also have all that!”
- Interflora World Cup champion, Brisbane-based Bart Hassam will create a spectacular floral installation for the opening weekend
- Attending the launch was Felicity Schubert, whose mother Maureen Kistle (later Lady Schubert) graced the cover of the 1956 Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers Souvenir Program, and was the 1955 Miss Australia, as well as Kate Logan of South Toowoomba and her grandmother Elizabeth Cornford of Kearney’s Spring who watched the very first Carnival Parade on October 28, 1950.
Over 10 glorious days from September 20 to 29, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers will shine as Australia’s most beautiful event. Over 1,100 hectares of public parks and private gardens will be on display this year shining with over 180,000 bulbs and seedlings in full bloom. Gardeners across the city have been planning and planting over the past month to ensure everything blooms in a perfectly timed carpet of colour for the expected 250,000 locals and visitors who celebrate the event.
“The weekend features a program of talented music-makers, with new and emerging bands on the Friday night, epic sound creators on Saturday playing some of the biggest songs in history, and then a Sunday led by the man himself.” added Peter Lock.
The Heritage Bank Festival of Food & Wine also features over 50 produce and wine stalls celebrating flavours straight from the bountiful paddocks, orchards and vineyards of Southern Queensland Country region, cooking demonstrations by acclaimed Australian chef Adrian Richardson (La Luna, Good Chef Bad Chef), garden design talks by Dave Franklin of The Block fame as well as beer and BBQ master classes and incredible floral installations, led by the reigning Interflora World Cup champion, Brisbane-based Bart Hassam.
The reigning Interflora World Cup champion, Brisbane-based Bart Hassam will create a spectacular floral installation for the opening weekend in Queens Park. Originally from Bundaberg, Bart is also five-time Australian Florist of the Year. In taking out the prestigious Interflora World Cup title at the Philadelphia Flower Show in the USA recently (referred to as the ‘Olympic Games’ of floristry) he cemented his place as a world leader.
Acclaimed Australian chef Adrian Richardson is set to lead the culinary charge at the opening weekend. Richardson will give a series of cooking demonstrations. Garden design talks will be hosted by Dave Franklin of Nine’s The Block fame as well as beer and BBQ master classes.
Adrian has enjoyed success across many areas of his career, the most prominent being his work on Australian television. In the early 2000s, he was a regular chef on Ready Steady Cook along with chefs such as Manu Feildel who Adrian would later work with again on Boys Weekend. He has filmed more than 500 episodes of the popular cooking show Good Chef Bad Chef for Network Ten, and has demonstrated his love of quality ingredients cooked well in his show Secret Meat Business for the Lifestyle Channel. He is a published author, particularly famed for his 2008 book, MEAT.
It isn’t just on television that Adrian has flourished. It is a testament to his culinary talents that his restaurant La Luna Bistro has been in business for 21 years and still going strong! Not content with running just one hugely successful and highly reviewed restaurant, Adrian opened Bouvier Bar in 2016. In just a few years this New York styled bar and grill has cemented its place in the Melbourne food scene, proving to be equally as fantastic as La Luna.
His passion for food began early, working in cafes from the age of 14. Originally this was to fund his pilot licence for a career in aviation, but this wasn’t to be when he found his true calling as a chef. He takes inspiration from food all around the world with an affinity for Mediterranean flavours.
WHERE: Toowomba (multiple sites)
WHEN: Friday September 20 to Sunday September 29, 2019