The annual Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers will celebrate 180,000 blooms in its bright display across the city’s petal-perfect parks from September 20 to 29. The carnival has flourished for generations, and is now famed for the ten days of flavour it brings to the community. The Qantas Gala Dinner opens the carnival with a six-course meal under the stars. East Street Kitchen and Gabbinbar Homestead have collaborated to provide a dining experience on Thursday 19 September. Following the romantic opening, the festival kicks off with the traditional talking pub tours, cheese and wine tastings and high teas to ensure fun for the whole family.
Home to over 50 food and wine stalls, the Heritage Bank Festival of Food and Wine will officially begin the weekend from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 September. Foodies will feel at home with barbecue and cooking demonstrations surrounded by the sweet smell of flowers. If you are bringing the little ones, the cubby house is the perfect place to keep them occupied, with cooking and gardening adventures while you indulge.
Concluding the festival on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 September are various Progressive Foodie Tours. Friday begins with mezze sharing platters at Toowoomba’s Turkish restaurant, Sofra. Enjoy mains at Inbound Restaurant adjoining the historic Railway Station and a decadent dessert at Encores Restaurant. Saturday’s dinner tour beings with an exclusive tour of Cobb + Co Museum’s Carriage Room with cheese and canapés. Mains then take place at the historic Gip’s Restaurant, formerly an eighteenth century mansion, before dessert at Picnic Point Restaurant.
For those looking for a little extra character with their cuisine, the Talking Pub Tours are holding four-hour tours of Toowoomba’s great pubs. Beginning with a grazing platter at Bar Wunder, Asian style entrees are then followed at Junk Toowoomba. Mains are presented on a volcanic stone at The Cube Hotel and finally dessert at the beautiful rooftop bar and bistro George Banks. The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers has flourished over the past 70 decades and is now an iconic Queensland event.
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