Spring really is a lovely time of the year in Brisbane, especially when the flowers start blooming. We’re looking at you, jacaranda trees. In turn, this makes saunters around the city even more glorious. Because, who doesn’t love flowers, right? Come September, you can catch tremendous seas of colour at Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers.
From Friday, September 12 to Monday, October 6, this stunning flower festival will take over the Darling Downs city of Toowoomba, which is around 1.5 hours west of Brisbane. In previous years, the celebration has attracted massive crowds, and with good reason: the flower displays are magnificent and the events are guaranteed to put a spring in your step.
Fittingly known as the Garden City, Toowoomba has been celebrating flowers for over 75 years. The seed were planted way back in 1949, thanks to Essex Tait and the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce, who wanted to promote economic activity in the region following the hardships of WWII and leveraged the area’s reputation for beautiful flora to do so. Nowadays, Essex is recognised as the “father” of the Carnival, and was immortalised with a bronze bust in Toowoomba’s Carnival Lane.
Soon after, the event began to truly blossom, incorporating a grand parade that is still a highlight of the festival to this day. The carnival has been going strong ever since its inception, through changes, challenges, and even the pandemic, and after celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2024, this year promises to be as gorgeous and impressive as ever.
The 2025 program favourites include the iconic Grand Central Floral Parade and a Paw Parade with prizes handed out for best flower-inspired outfit, pet and owner lookalikes, waggiest tail and more. There will also be lawn parties, a giant ferris wheel, sideshow alley, markets, a food and wine festival, and that’s not to mention the over 190,000 flowers decorating every inch of Toowoomba’s lush parks!
The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers will run from September 12 to October 6 all over Toowoomba. You can see the full program and get your tickets for paid events here.