By Tyler Wright
Fields of bright flowers have once again taken over Silvan’s Tesselaar farm as part of this year’s KaBloom festival, which kicked off on Saturday 25 March.
Around three million flowers – including marigolds, bright blue salvia and snapdragons – will accompany a troop of circus performers and fairy storytellers will fill the autumn festivities until 25 April.
Tesselaar KaBloom welcomed 70,000 visitors in 2022, with managing director Paul Tesselaar expecting even more in 2023.
“There’s more flowers spread out further over the farm, second food court and toilet facilities and parking so that we can accommodate the expected larger crowds,” Mr Tesselaar said.
“Leading into the school holidays and Easter, we’re expecting some pretty large crowds this year.”
Organisers have also introduced new patterns in the farm’s paddock, with a newly-introduced block of “spectacular” flowering miniature dahlias.
“Hopefully they delight the crowds,” Mr Tesselaar said.
Hula hoopers, contortionists, stool walkers, acrobats, jugglers will perform during the school holidays along with circus workshops, drumming workshops, and the usual tractor ride around the flower fields.
Easter rabbit hunts, the flower crate maze, garden games, obstacle courses, face painting and the fairy shop are also set to entertain families.
“We have our mythical characters, a troop of circus performers on poles five metres in the air, and they’re bending and swaying at seemingly impossible angles to entertain the crowd,” Mr Tesselaar said.
There are 100,000 people expected to make the trip to the Dandenong Ranges for the festival, Mr Tesselaar said, with limited tickets available to ensure a relaxing day amongst the flowers.
“One item we do want to stress, because it’s quite a cultural change for us and our festival, is for people to secure their tickets online,” he said.
“My other hot tip would be when they visit is to bring some sturdy shoes that they don’t mind getting a little bit dirty and a plastic bag and a spare pair of shoes to change into when they’re leaving.”
Tesselaar’s doors are open from 10am to 5pm daily for the duration of the KaBloom Festival.
To choose what activities best suit you, and to book accordingly, visit https://kabloom.com.au/
