Tedder Avenue turnaround: Main Beach flower festival is a blooming hit with tourists

Main Beach’s troubled Tedder Avenue’s retail strip is finally enjoying the sweet smell of success.

MAIN Beach’s troubled Tedder Avenue’s retail strip is finally enjoying the sweet smell of success.

Organisers estimate the weekend’s first Main Beach Flower Festival attracted more than 7000 tourists and residents, who packed out restaurants.

Some of the amazing flower arrangements visited by tourists attending the Main Beach Flower Festival. Picture supplied by Nikolas Pregelj.

Main Beach Association leader Sue Donovan said more than 50 volunteers worked around-the-clock with a floral army to create the weekend’s entertainment which included stalls and bands.

“I think there will be a lot of support for it next year. It’s a question of whether we can raise the funds. We’d love to do it,” Ms Donovan said.

“It’s a very expensive exercise. We spent $50,000 on fresh flowers. The budget was well over $100,000. There was a lot of street entertainment.

Some of the young visitors to the Main Beach Flower Festival which was a breath of fresh air for Tedder Avenue. Picture supplied by Nikolas Pregelj.

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“We had a lot of support from council. (Mayoress) Ruth Tate opened the festival. (Area councillor) Gary Baildon helped fund it. It was very generous. It was all about the regeneration of Tedder Avenue. Like all retail areas, it has been really suffering.

“The cafes and restaurants were packed. The traders were over the moon with the event.”

Just three years ago, trendy Tedder which was once the pick for restaurant crowds was struggling after at least six restaurants, four clothing boutiques and the TAB closed.

Asian visitors were stopping to “put a toe in the surf” at nearby Main Beach but their controlled tours meant their buses did not venture a few blocks west into ­Tedder Ave.

Restaurants packed in Tedder Avenue for the Main Beach Flower Festival. Picture supplied by Nikolas Pregelj.

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Community leaders began discussing a solution with council, and late last year consultants were hired to look at a revamp which included an event calendar for the beachside suburb.

One of the first steps was the flower festival and organising a “floral army” after Flowers On Tedder owner Margot de Groot was inspired after a visit to London’s Chelsea’s Flower Show.

“There was a volunteer floral army of about 20 professional florists who were both locals and from interstate and overseas — New Zealand, Singapore, Tassie and Sydney,” Ms Donovan said.

“Their final effort was work from the Friday evening through to 3am on the Saturday transforming Tedder Avenue into a floral wonderland.

“Three vacant shops in Tedder Ave were used for special installations — the community paper flower one, a fresh flower immersion room set up for selfies, and a Table for Two student floral competition. There were long queues outside all three rooms.”

Families enjoying the Main Beach Flower Festival. Picture supplied by Nikolas Pregelj.

Cr Baildon said he was pleased to see Tedder Avenue “alive and blooming”.

“The creative floral installations throughout Main Beach were unique and stunning and like nothing I have seen before. Thank you to (floral rock star) Julia Rose for her incredible creative prowess. I look forward to the 2020 festival,” he said.