By MELISSA MEEHAN
Irish eyes were smiling on Tesselaars Tulip Festival’s…
IT’S the luck of the Irish – clear blue skies for the final weekend of Tesselaars Tulip Festival meant for huge crowds.
The Irish themed weekend proved popular for visitors hoping to get a final look at the magnificent colours of the tulips before they are dead headed and bulbs are put into cold storage for next year.
Tesselaars spokesperson Wendy Barnes said that the festival was well attended this year, with two bumper Sundays.
“The Dutch Weekend and Jazz Food and Wine Weekend were very busy which was great, but Seniors Week was quite wet which was a little disappointing for us,” Ms Barnes said.
“And of the eight kids’ days – there were only two with clear weather.
“But we can’t control the weather and when it was nice the crowds came.”
Ms Barnes said the festival finished on Wednesday and the paddocks would soon be cleared in preparation for next year.
“It’s a very quick process and to see how all the colours of the tulips disappear until next year,” she said.
The festival did not go without incident, with one angry resident contacting the Mail concerned that the council was not supporting local tourism by issuing a number of parking fines to visitors to the Tulip Festival.
Paul Tesselaar said that this years’ festival had more than 60,000 visitors and said he had no issue with the council officers doing their job.
“Our position is that people were parking where they shouldn’t and the council is in their right to enforce their laws,” he said.
“Obviously we want to ensure visitors to the festival have a great day here, and sure, some of their days may have been ruined by that – but we want to work with council to find a solution to the problem.
“It wasn’t an issue every day – but we had two days that were bumper days and this is where the issue happened.”
Yarra Ranges Council manager of community compliance David Clarkson said council staff were required to enforce parking restrictions as part of the Road Safety Act and Victorian Road Rules.
“Motorists were booked for parking illegally along the Monbulk-Silvan Road where the roadside is clearly marked with no standing signs,” he said.
“Some motorists were observed removing temporary barriers to illegally park.
“Monbulk-Silvan Road has a speed rating of 80km/h and is not a particularly wide road, making it dangerous for people to park on the roadside and then exit their cars to cross the road.”
Mr Clarkson said the council was very supportive of events including Tesselaar’s Tulip Festival and understood the value they bring to tourism and the local economy.
