Festival splashes colour
LEONGATHA was once again bathed in bright yellow for the Leongatha Horticultural Society’s Daffodil Festival last week.
The 56th Daffodil and Floral Show was a huge success, attracting a wide range of exhibits, including more entries to the photography competition in its second year.
The show was officially opened by Deputy Premier and Member for Gippsland South, Peter Ryan, on Thursday afternoon, who was delighted to attend the festival.
“This really is a magical display,” he said, motioning to the colourful array of flowers lining the walls of the Leongatha Memorial Hall.
“The Leongatha Horticultural Society has surpassed what it has done in previous years.”
Mr Ryan passed on apologies from his wife Trish, who he described as the real gardener of the family.
“I do what I’m told; I’m not allowed to pull anything out of the garden, but I’m not allowed to put them in,” he laughed.
Society president Judy Jackson said the society was thrilled with the number of entrants in all exhibits, and added it was great to see children taking part this year too.
“It went as well as normal and although we don’t hold it as a fundraiser, it was definitely a financial success,” she said.
“Everybody raved about the open gardens – there was one we hadn’t visited before and it was very much enjoyed. The ladies in the kitchen served a lot more meals than usual too; across the board, we would consider it very successful.”
For the first time, volunteers at the event took postcodes of all the visitors to determine where visitors came from.
Ms Jackson said around 11 businesses took part in the window displays competition, with Flower Power and Leongatha RSL winning the window and inside display sections respectively.
She also said the daffodils, provided by a local grower and sold by the Leongatha Chamber of Commerce and Industry, were well received this year, as well as the daffodils planted by the council around the shire.
“They were just magic – the daffodils came up in just perfect timing for this year,” she said.
Ms Jackson said the society would be following up with people involved in the festival as a whole to try and broaden the community appeal in future years.
“We want to see if we can get a bit more enthusiasm from the whole town and see if we can’t jazz people up a little more,” she said.
“We want to showcase Leongatha and everything it has to offer the best we can.”
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