Forget about flowers: Floriade by night

Forget about flowers: Floriade by night
By admin


If you thought Floriade was all about sniffing the tulips with your great aunt and her bridge friends, you'd be wrong.

Stepping into Commonwealth Park during Nightfest is more like entering an outdoor nightclub.

The tulips are still in bloom, but they take second billing to the spectacular light and sound displays that fill the night sky.

Wandering through the rhododendron garden you are greeted with 50 giant inflated and illuminated flowers, pulsating in time to the music.

Giant glowing waterlilies float on Nerang Pool, guiding you back towards the weather balloon installations which house glow-in-the-dark circus and musical performances.

And the best spot to take all of this in has to be from the top of the ferris wheel, as you watch the light displays dance across the garden beds and take in the full picture of the globe flowerbed at your feet.

About 35,000 people visited Nightfest last year, and similar numbers are expected this year over the five-day run.

There is still plenty for your great aunt to enjoy – perhaps the cooking demonstrations, wine and cheese tasting or the night markets.

And kids who are allowed up late will get a kick out of the circus performers, mime acts and stadium lights which are illuminated by jumping.

But the people likely to get the most out of Floriade's Nightfest are those who are looking to sip cocktails or cider while they take in a stand-up show or listen to some tunes.

The whole park is transformed at night – to the extent that you could almost forget the flowers were there, let alone remember to sniff them.

* Nightfest runs from Wednesday September 24 until Sunday September 28

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