Noeleen Martelli and Onnovan Raalte walk among the beautiful blooms at the Tulip Fest Rotorua opening. PHOTO/BEN FRASER
Noeleen Martelli and Onnovan Raalte walk among the beautiful blooms at the Tulip Fest Rotorua opening. PHOTO/BEN FRASER
The 2015 Tulip Fest Rotorua has got under way with hundreds of bargain hunters snapping up plants and gardening goodies at the Te Runanga Tea House.
Tulip Fest committee member Brigette Nelson says she was happy with the turnout yesterday, despite the bad weather.
"I think the rain has affected us a little bit but the forecast is very bright," she said.
"Mitre10 Mega kindly donated plenty of plants and shrubs for us to sell, and PlentyFlora, one of our Dutch communities that grow gerberas out in Horohoro, is on board.
"We also have Zonta, Friends of the Library, and Senior Net here so it's a real community hub with lots of spirit to kick the festival off.
"There's been a steady flow of people and the key is that it's launching the events to come in the next few days."
Mitre10 Mega Rotorua garden supervisor Melanie Walker said the store was excited about helping open the Tulip Fest.
"We came on board because of the fit with the gardening sector in our community. This is our first year being involved in the Tulip Fest but we look forward to getting on board with future festivals."
More than 40,000 tulips are on display around Rotorua during the 10-day festival.
Tulip Fest committee member Jill Marshall said people should make the most of this year's festival, which offered more than 50 family friendly and mostly free events.
"There are some amazing local and international speakers including Gordon Collier, Leigh Nicholson of Hanging Gardens, Ruud Kleinpaste, Maree Kinder, Nina Healey, Tracey Scott-Robinson, and expert plantsman and passionate gardener Walter Miller, who was employed by Rotorua Lakes Council for more than 40 years," she said.
Image 1 of 5: 270915aw07bop Tulips in Rotorua. Tulip Fetival Feature. 27 September 2015 The Daily Post Photograph by Andrew Warner.
"I'm really excited about what's to come. The tulips look fantastic, they've really done their thing this year. So many people have worked so hard and given so much of their time to make this happen. Come down and support us."
Meanwhile at the Lakefront, people have been taking photos of friends and families through a "living picture frame" which has seen its regular native foliage temporarily replaced with flowering tulip plants to coincide with the festival.
-Tulip Fest Rotorua runs until October 11. To find out more visit www.tulipfestrotorua.co.nz
