CITY’S BIGGEST CARNIVAL ONLY DAYS OFF

TOOWOOMBA is merely days away from the start of its largest Carnival of Flowers celebration in history.

For the first time, the carnival will be running over the entire month of September, kicking off next Wednesday.

The Toowoomba Regional Council announced the monumental change to the program in December last year.

In its announcement of the program, Mayor Paul Antonio said the change from the usual 10-day format was designed to facilitate more visitors through the region in a Covid-safe manner.

“Covid-19 restrictions allowed the TCOF team to bring forward the event’s five-year strategic plan milestones and trial activations across all weekends in September, which reflected stronger attendance numbers than in past years, across the weekends directly before and after our traditional 10-day program,” he said.

“We did this to ensure the safety and comfort of visitors and to allow everyone the opportunity to enjoy the 170,000 blooms across the city, while also generating extended activity for local businesses, which is a key aim of the event.”

Mr Antonio said the four week-long program would spread crowds and economic impact all over the region.

The carnival welcomed 116,093 visitors at the 2020 event, and Laurel Bank Park alone received 81, 688 visitors.

Thirty-six eateries took part in the inaugural #trEATS regional food trail.

Since its inception in 1949, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers has flourished and is now an iconic Queensland event.

For the full guide to the Carnival of Flowers, kicking off on September 1 and running until September 31, head to thechronicle.com.au.