Toowoomba Things to Do

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This is another display that is held every year during the Carnival of Flowers.

Not only is there Teapot's, but Cup/saucer/plate sets, Tea-towel collections, Button collections which have been made into designs and framed, aprons, quilting, tea cosies and hand made doll collection. A Potter was in the corner, decorating the Pots he had made, these were for sale.
Each year it varies, so you can come back again to see something different.

I loved looking at the 400+ teapots on display, ranging from novelty items to the finest in bone china. I was glad I could take my time and have a good look, probably my favorites were the novelty Teapots. It was amazing at what they can make a Teapot look like!

LOCATION.......The extravaganza is held at St Alban's Church and hall on the corner of Anzac Avenue and Hill Street.

OPEN......10am and 4pm daily.
ADMISSION......$3 Adults

$4 Devonshire tea was available.

Outside were plants for sale at very reasonable prices, and a book jumble sale.

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Carnival of Flowers, and looking for something to do at night?

We walked to Sideshow Alley, where all the sideshow's and the rides were, including the Ferris Wheel. Plenty of rides to spend money on, side show stalls, Fairy Floss, Showbags, and an Animal farm.
A couple of "flame thrower's" entertained us and the crowd for awhile, and then it was time for the firework display which lasted 1/4hour.

Every year, sideshow alley is here, in the same place in Queens Park.

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This park is lovely to visit at any time of the year, but when the Carnival of Flowers is on, it is at its very best.
Mr. Stephens donated the land to the Toowoomba city council in 1932, but before handing it over to them offically in 1934, he designed the layout of the gardens.
Mr Stephens was known to many as 'the man of flowers'. He loved gardens & flowers allowing only a Croquet green to be incorporated in the gardens.

Every year, when the Carnival of Flowers is on, you can have a Devonshire morning tea at the Croquet club. We did, and it was beautiful! One huge scone, jam & cream, and a cup of coffee all for $4.
You could have one huge muffin, and of course, tea instead of coffee. It was a wet day, so we could have sat inside, but instead, we sat on the verandah and enjoyed our morning tea whilst admiring the gardens.

During the carnival of flowers, they have a raised stand that overlooks the garden beds. We went up, and had a wonderful view over all the garden beds, a must do when here.

It is here that major floral float for the parade stays. Climb inside, and have your photo taken as the "Queen!"
The Wisteria Arbour is at its best too [September], there is seating underneath.

There are lots of exotic trees, including English and Spanish oaks, Japanese maples and many more, all in a well kept lawned area. It really is a nice park for a family picnic, there is Playground equipment, a gazebo and Toilet's in the park, and those trees add the much needed shade on those warm, summer days.

Other history............Laurel Bank Hall in the gardens, was built during World War II to be used as a mess hall for US naval troops.

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Two of the Cinema's in Toowoomba are beautiful old heritage listed Art Deco buildings.

Don't be mislead by their old exterior, as inside "The Strand", there are 5 Movie screens.
The exterior is lovely, very different! [see photo]
It is located in Margaret street, near Neil street.

The other one is Toowoomba’s Empire Theatre that was built in 1933. This is another Art Deco Building that has been restored. The Empire Theatre is the largest regional theatre in Australia and is said to be an architectural showpiece.

The Empire Theatre is at 56 Neil Street, Toowoomba

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This show is another one that is held every year during the Carnival of Flowers.

On entering the show, I bought a raffle ticket for a Clivia, these tickets were only $1 each.
I never knew there were so many different colours in Clivia's until coming to this show. I found there is a huge variety, and I also found, they are expensive to buy, approx $30 - $40 a plant, not cheap!
They had a stall with seedlings for sale, $10 each, a good way to start off if you don't mind waiting for the plant to mature to flower.

Beautiful display, and FREE ADMISSION

The Tafe college also had Australian native plants for sale.

When...........During the Carnival of Flowers......yearly

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IN SEPTEMBER, every year this Carnival is held for a week.

* It starts off with a floral parade held on the Saturday.

* COMPETITION GARDENS are free to get into and have a look at, even in drought these are outstanding gardens.

* Exhibition gardens cost a small entry fee, this goes to Charity.

* You can do a Bus Tour around the gardens if you wish.

*Energy Flower, Food & Wine Festival, runs from Friday to Sunday. There is an admission charge, but this entitles you to free Wine tasting, visual art displays, cooking demonstrations, and live concerts, good value at $19 in 2010.

* Sideshow alley for that fun time

* Fireworks held over 4 nights during the Carnival

* Lots of floral displays which are either free or a gold coin donation.

* Different garden clubs hold displays, like the Bonsai club, the Clivia club & Orchid club, Quilting Club, Spinners & Weavers, Geranium Club, Art in Bark just to name a few.

* THIS EVENT IS A MUST FOR GARDEN LOVERS!

We go to it every few years, there is always something different, and lots to see.

The photo's are of the "GRAND CHAMPION GARDEN 2010" Free admission to this garden.

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Every year when the Carnival of Flowers is on, they hold a street parade. All the local clubs and many business's have floats.
We saw it this year [2010] and thought it was pretty good, especially for children and locals.
Of course, there is a Carnival Queen, and she has a beautiful float of many flowers. There were lots of stilt walkers, also Brass bands, Scottish Bands, Rock n' roll dancers, ethnic groups, old cars and trucks, clowns and anything to do with the community.

The parade starts at 12noon sharp, and I think it took about three quarters an hour. The main street is closed for the event.

If you buy the Chronicle newspaper, there is a map inside of where the parade goes.
Crowds line the streets from three deep and more. They estimated that 80,000 people watched it this year!

We were at the start, thankgoodness, as we didn't take any seating with us!

It is held on the 1st Saturday of the Carnival of Flowers, which is in the middle of September.
Check out their website for details about next years.

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Every year when the Carnival of Flower's is on in mid September, St. Patrick's Cathedral hosts a free floral display.
We wandered in for a look, and were stopped by a helpful lady who told us a little about the displays. Most of them were done by Tafe student's studying floral art, some by school children, another by one of the Nun's. All of them were different themes.

Beautifully done, with lots of different ideas, including fruit used in the floral arrangement.
We thought it was lovely, and gave a donation on our way out.