Floriade Nightfest

Posted by Anura Samara, 26 September 2015

Of course it’s been a few years since to Floriade. We knew we had to start reconnecting with all of the activities on offer in Canberra but instead of just visiting as normal during the daytime we opted to buy tickets for the Nightfest.

As it was dark, you don’t really go for the flowers. Yes, they’re there but it can be hard to see them and there’s no steady lighting on the flowerbeds, just the reflected lights from the various activities. So it seems that Nightfest is more about creating a destination with a range of activities. There are bars and food, music and various lighting displays to see as well as a ride on the ferris wheel.

For me, the stand-out was the sound and light display on the water. There was a structure in the water which looked like a blooming flower and was lit with different colours and forms of light, all to a wide variety of music from pop to techno. I was absolutely captivated, so we sat on the grass and watch every the display with every track (there was a short break between each one). In fact, I would have happily stayed and watched again!

The rest of it was pretty standard Floriade fare – the marquees with loads on sale from the practical to the tempting to the pointless, inclulding our friends from Mudgeerabe Spices (definitely not at the pointless end of that scale!). I can never quite follow along with the supposed themes they have at Floriade but at least in the dark you don’t have to worry about it – just have a good time along with thousands of other Canberrans.