Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers launches float design competition

On Saturday 21 September, Toowoomba will stand still, for this is the day that more than 100,000 people will line the streets for the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers Grand Central Floral Parade.

It is the 70th year of this incredible parade and to celebrate, organisers have launched a competition for primary school students to design the Toowoomba Regional Council float.

Entries are open from today (Monday 25 March) with entry forms available at www.tcof.com.au.

Toowoomba Regional Council Environment and Community Services Committee Chair Cr Geoff McDonald said the competition was open to students and primary schools within the Toowoomba Region.

“This is a special opportunity for local primary school students to be part of the magic of the iconic Grand Central Floral Parade and design our feature float using the 2019 theme – Power of the Flower,” he said.

“In 2019 it will be the 70th time this incredible parade has coloured the streets of Toowoomba. This year we expect over 70 floats to take part, and more than 100,000 spectators to watch and celebrate a moment in history.”

To enter, students need to draw, paint, computer-design, collage or model a float design and enter this by 3pm on 2 May 2019 to the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers office via email at [email protected] or in person at Level 1, James Cook Building, 147 Herries St, Toowoomba.

The winning design will be built by Toowoomba Regional Council and displayed as a feature float in the 70th anniversary Grand Central Floral Parade. After the parade the float will be displayed at Laurel Bank Park until 30 September 2019.

“We will also involve the student or students who submitted the design in the overall creation process. They will be invited to meet with the float building team to see the construction, and of course they will have special reserved seating to watch the parade along Ruthven Street,” Cr McDonald said.

The 2019 event is set to be a huge and floral-filled year for the iconic Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, which was recently inducted into the Australian Tourism Hall of Fame after taking out the Major Festivals or Events title for the third successive year.

The program and highlights for this year will be released on 30 April and the event is set for September 20 to 29.