‘Things change’: Toowoomba residents and councillors react to Lawn Party announcement
‘Looking forward to more new events to try out’: Here’s what you had to say about the Carnival of Flowers Lawn Party.
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Carnival of Flowers organisers say the new Lawn Party event has garnered significant interest and ticket sales are “progressing smoothly” despite some community pushback on the $350 price tag.
Ahead of 76th Carnival of Flowers the multi-week event has undergone a major overhaul with organisers scrapping the popular Food and Wine Festival and replacing it with FEASTival.
They also announced the brand new Lawn Party, a $350 a ticket event which will be held on the Godsall St oval and capped at 750 guests.
The party features a five-hour beer and wine package, an oyster bar and gourmet canapes alongside performances including roaming ballerinas.
“Lawn Party has garnered lots of interest so far,” a spokeswoman said.
“Ticket sales are progressing smoothly with local event producers Round Square Marketing designing a decadent evening of continuous drinks, dining and awe inspiring entertainment.
“As our flagship event, tickets to Feastival are also tracking really well and we’re on course for a sellout. Feedback on the new format has been overwhelmingly positive, and there’s a genuine buzz around welcoming Miguel Maestre and guests from across Australia.”
Councillors also weighed in and said the Food and Wine revamp and new events would allow different demographics to be catered for.
They said despite the $350 price tag for the Lawn Party, the majority of the events were free and FEASTival was significantly cheaper than its predecessor.
Another councillor however said it was “not in the spirit of carnival to have something of that cost” and said they would be surprised if enough residents had the money to spend on it.
On social media, commenters also weighed in with some saying the event’s price wasn’t in the spirit of the carnival, however others were excited.
“I’m sure those who decide to attend will have a lovely time. I’m looking forward to the variety this year – many of us were sad to see food and wine change, but the reality is it was costing so much they couldn’t run it and keep ticket prices affordable,” Kristy Em wrote.
“Things change, the TCOF is a wonderful time to be in the garden city. Looking forward to more new events to try out.
“‘FEASTival is almost half the price of what Food and Wine was last year and the Lawn party is a completely different event,’ Hannah Jade said.
Other commenters were less pleased with the announcement.
‘What an absolute joke! As if things weren’t expensive enough in Toowoomba for events and now this,’ Melissa Ann Haddon wrote.
‘It’s no longer an event inclusive of the average person/family which is sad. $350 then you have food, drinks and purchases to add on to that,’ Jenny Zimmerle said.
“I've been every year to food and wine but this does it for me NO MORE,” Judith Thorp said.
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Originally published as ‘Things change’: Toowoomba residents and councillors react to Lawn Party announcement
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