Festival of Food and Wine: Toowoomba council won’t confirm inclusion of key Carnival of Flowers event in 2025

The Toowoomba Regional Council has refused to reveal whether a key event at the Carnival of Flowers will return in 2025, as questions have been raised about its future.

One of the biggest events of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is feared to have been cancelled for 2025, in an apparent move by council that has left many stakeholders “shocked”.

Business owners and community leaders have made it clear the canning of the festival, which draws more than 13,000 people to Queens Park, would be a black eye for the branding of the Garden City at its busiest time of the year.

Major artists like John Farnham, James Reyne, Pete Murray, Hoodoo Gurus and The Whitlams have played the main stage and is widely considered one of the main anchors of the month-long festival.

However, Toowoomba Regional Council’s own sponsorships guide for the 2025 carnival has left the major event out, but has included a new event, called “Small Plates and Chilled Local Tunes” that covers just two days.

In previous years, that same document went into great detail as to how businesses can get their name on several parts of the Festival of Food and Wine, which they described as the “must attend social event for locals each year”.

John Farnham performs at the Heritage Bank Festival of Food and Wine in 2018.

“Toowoomba’s culinary landscape will bloom at a two-day celebration where local tastes, chilled sounds and community spirit intertwine like the most delectable of recipes,” the 2025 document said, with images of people enjoying the Festival of Food and Wine displayed in the background.

The omission has raised alarm bells among tourism and business leaders, with one calling the move “confusing”.

When asked by News Corp whether the event had been shelved, councillor James O’Shea refused to address it.

Cr James O'Shea at the unveiling of the bronze bust of Essex Tait in Carnival Lane. Essex is regarded as the father of the Carnival of Flowers, Thursday, September 1, 2022. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Instead Mr O’Shea and the council provided a 350-word response that not confirm the future of the event in 2025.

“The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers will submit a report to council’s February meetings outlining the full success of the 75th celebratory event that was held in 2024,” he said.

“The report will offer a sneak peek at the four flower-filled weekends scheduled for the 2025 Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, based on sponsorships being secured to assist in delivering the events.

“The official launch of the full program of events for Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers 2025 is happening on 28 April, 2025.”

The 2023 edition of the Carnival of Flowers drew more than 200,000 visitors to the region over the four weekends it was held, injecting about $27m into the local economy.

Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce chief executive Todd Rohl said the council’s lack of transparency around the future of a tentpole event for the carnival was concerning.

Todd Rohl. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“What’s the change for? What are they trying to achieve? It really lacks transparency by not engaging with the broader community,” he said.

“That event has been a cornerstone for the carnival of a number of years — it showcases local produce on the national and international stage.

“Now to remove it has the potential to dampen the reputation of the region as a foodie haven and seriously put at risk our reputation as an event and food city across the nation.

“What are they hiding from the public?”

Queensland Country Tourism chief executive Peter Homan said he was not aware of any changes to the festival, but reiterated its importance to the carnival’s success.

“There are two events we’d take a VIP to; one is the parade and the other is a night at Festival of Food and Wine,” he said.

“I mean officials from Tourism and Events Queensland and international journos, that gives you an idea of its importance.

“It’s a fabulous event and draws a lot of people in from outside of the region.

“It’s also a great way of sampling local produce, and it gives those producers a chance to get in front of a crowd.”

The move has sparked concerns among accommodation providers, who rely on strong occupancy figures during the month of carnival to maintain a solid bottom line.

With Toowoomba missing out on the Red Hot Summer Tour this year, Burke and Wills Hotel general manager Donnalea Ballard said the removal of the festival would be another blow to hotels in the CBD.

“September is the bread and butter and we do have certain levels of trade we anticipate — we do base a lot of our planning being a sellout,” she said.

“That (would) put a massive dent — I’m actually quite shocked they would decide to do that, that it’s even being considered.

“If the lineup of carnival was to change considerably from the past nine years, that would have a detrimental impact of the success of the period.”

KPAT Hotels managing director Kenneth Wagner, whose company owns the Toowoomba Oaks, said the weekend of the FoFW was one of the most lucrative of the year, praising the event’s ability to draw in demographics that might overwise overlook the carnival.

The Rock owner Kenneth Wagner. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“The festival has been able to attract different types of people, it’s a younger demographic,” he said.

“That has enabled us to assist into transforming the event into something contemporary, so young people can go and enjoy.

“(Having big names playing) lifts and the brand and profile and shows we’re a serious place to come visit.”