Spring Has Sprung in Toowoomba

Every year, Toowoomba’s Carnival of Flowers brings together thousands of floral enthusiasts and tourists to mark the start of spring. Launched in 1949, the carnival has grown from strength to strength, winning a multitude of awards and fans along the way. What started as an attempt to boost economic activity around Toowoomba has blossomed into an iconic Queensland event that normally draws a multitude of visitors from across the country. With the ongoing pandemic however, it has meant that Queenslanders had to do a lot of the heavy lifting and they came out in numbers to support and make this year’s festival a memorable one. There were more than 60,000 people in attendance.

For us at Seachange, this year was even more special as the team and residents at Seachange Toowoomba worked together to put our very first float in the Carnival parade. Martha, our trusty coffee combi van, was the star of the show as she took up centre stage on our float, showcasing flower power from the VW combi’s iconic era, while on a bed of blooming flowers and escorted by some very special “butterflies”.

It was a thrilling experience seeing the team’s hard work come to life and having the residents and their grandkids marching along with Martha, much to the delight of the onlookers. It was a true testament of Seachange’s values of Mind, Body and Soul, seeing the joy everyone got from being a part of the process.

It took careful planning to  stage the Kombi, select the right flowers to suit the theme and coordinating the hard work that the residents in the gardening group put in. Our craft group also got on board creating some additional butterfly decorations to fit the parade theme. It was such a great bonding exercise for all involved and now work on a concept for next year’s festival is already underway.

The resort also got some additional flower power as well. As the team prepped for the parade, some more colour and decorations were added throughout the resort to bring the spirit of the carnival home. It was really great seeing it all in full bloom, bringing some cheer to all our residents.