Floriade 2013: Kisses and Disses

It’s been 4 months since my second visit to Floriade. I went to see the Floriade the first time around 15 years ago when we generally took photos with film cameras. How time has changed!

In case you don’t know what Floriade is, it is an Australian flower and entertainment festival celebrating the beginning of Spring, held annually in Australian Capital Canberra. Yes. Our Spring starts in September:).

Canberra is close to 4 hours drive away from Sydney so it requires a bit of planning ahead to get there. We went to the event on the weekend and stayed overnight in Canberra. It was Mid September but the weather still wasn’t that warm yet. I was getting worried if the flowers in the park could survive the cold snap at night. But the flowers turned out to be much stronger than I thought. 2013 Floriade aimed to showcase how innovation can inspire a nation with Canberra’s 100th birthday, providing a celebratory feeling in the city for the entire year. With that in mind, here are my kisses and disses of Floriade 2013:

Kisses:

1. The beautiful flowers of course. There are mainly tulips but many other kinds of flowers were also on display. Look at them. I couldn’t stop taking photos of them.

2. Selection of colors and theme layout. Planning such a flower event is no easy task. Job well done to people who have worked hard for this to happen.

3. Easy & free access to the event. Commonwealth Park is just 5 minutes walk from the city center of Canberra and there’s no entry fee to Floriade.

4. Literally non stop entertainment. Getting tired? Take a seat and enjoy the performances, preferably with a warm cup of tea in hand.

5. Great photo opportunities. Did I say we took LOTS OF photos?

Disses:

1. Relatively small flower field. This year’s Floriade definitely seems to have more stalls selling things and less flowers for show compared to 15 years ago.

2. Food. The food choices are limited and prices are high considering the food quality on offer. But maybe I’m being a little picky, it’s a flower event, not a food festival after all.

More about Canberra Floriade:

When: Mid September – Mid October every year

Where: Commonwealth Park in Canberra

Open hours: 9.00 am – 5.00pm Monday to Friday
9.00 am – 5.30pm weekends and public holidays

Is it worth going? Yes. Especially for people who like flowers. If you are in Canberra around mid September to mid October, it’s almost a crime not to go;).

Is it kids friendly? Yes. Kids would love it and you can have your family photos taken with a stunning backdrop of flowers.

2013 marks Canberra’s 100 years birthday