By KATRINA BRANDON
FULL steam ahead, the annual Morwell International Rose Garden Festival celebrated its eighth year at the weekend.
Despite heavy rain throughout Friday (November 7) and Saturday (November 8), hundreds of people filtered through the Morwell Rose Garden, enjoying spectacular lights put on by AGL and many entertaining acts.
The Morwell Rose Garden features 4000 roses, which receive more than 6000 hours of care each year from the Friends of the Rose Garden volunteers.
TRFM announcer Rob Goodwin emceed the event, ensuring the show went on despite cold weather events.
“Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t quite helped out,” Mr Goodwin told the crowd on Saturday.
“It’s not just the roses, it’s also the beautiful lights that make us able to see the roses, especially as we head into the night, because there will be a beautiful night lights display.
“The Morwell International Rose Garden Festival has a remarkable legacy of celebrating the beauty of the area of this whole centenary rose garden, and also educating the community on the importance of environmental sustainability.”
Heading into the event, Becky Bubbles led the Friday evening session, engaging children with a bubble workshop next to the main stage at the top end of the garden. Filling up the area, children and adults alike could be found dancing around the bubbles.
For those unable to be up close to the bubbles, they enjoyed them from a distance, taking in the excitement and walking through the roses, admiring the lights, and having pictures taken with the light show.
As the night went on, the lights became more prominent.
Rain came in around 7pm, causing havoc with some visitors, which prompted the appearance of umbrellas and ponchos on the scene.
Unfortunately due to the rain, the scheduled Bloom Aerial Performance was postponed until the following day.
Despite all the heavy rain, Becky Bubbles continued to put on a show, introducing giant bubbles and becoming a huge crowd pleaser, especially when fire was added to the event.
Around 6am on Saturday, thunder rumbled and heavy rain appeared before the event, which thankfully stopped around 9am so the festival could commence.
Hundreds gathered to see the 1951-built steam locomotive R761 pass through, and for the Grubby Bucket Show, hosted by Costa Georgiadis – the two main events of the day, apart from the roses.
Early risers lined up for the famous CWA scones, while children exerted energy running around the roses.
The rain started again around 11.50am, with people taking cover wherever they could. Food vans and market stalls were shared to provide much-needed coverage as the rain began to washout the event. Ponchos and umbrellas were soon not enough to keep the rain out.
Once again, the Bloom Aerial Performance was postponed in the afternoon, when the rain broke long enough for visitors to get back onto the train.
While the rain was a pain, visitors enjoyed the festival’s eighth year.
