A hot spring day attracted a large crowd at Sunday’s Festival of Roses, with plans for next year’s event already underway.
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Set at the historic Woolmers Estate in Longford, festival chairman Ian Goninon said it was great to see so many community groups coming together to help make the event such a success.
“This is what really excites me,” he said.
“Everyone here, sitting around and enjoying the setting with some amazing food, drinks and of course beautiful roses.
“A lot of hard work has gone into this so it is great to see so many people enjoying themselves.
“The roses have never looked better and this is really the main reason why so many people are here today.”
Mr Goninon said it was only a small but hardworking committee of 12 behind the festival, but many volunteers had played a big part in pulling the 2017 event together.
This year’s festival featured the biggest line-up of stalls to date, with everything from antiques, alpacas, woodcarving, succulents, photography and a huge range of Tasmanian produce.
Mr Goninon said he could not confirm the exact number of attendees but said the cars didn’t stop rolling in from 9am.
“We are pretty much at maximum capacity so that is a great thing to see,” he said.
“It is a very hot day but people are making the most of it.”
Volunteers had been on site from 5.30am setting up the exhibitions, including Longford Men’s Shed who were selling a selection of woodwork all made from Tasmanian grown timber.
State president Bob Thomas said the event was a wonderful excuse to get out into the community, with the shed’s chopping boards proving to be particularly popular choice.
“This is a really fantastic event and something Longford should be very proud of,” Mr Thomas said.
“This is one of our biggest days for the year and we will be definitely be back in 2018.”
Already planning for next year, Mr Goninon said the Festival of Roses committee would like to see the event held over a week.
“We want to keep taking the event forward,” he said.
“If we keep getting the support from the community there is no reason it won’t continue to grow.
“People are coming from near and far for this so we don’t want to let anyone down.”