By Tyler Wright
Silvan’s Tesselaar Kabloom Festival took out the top spot in the Victorian Tourism Awards last week, joining other local events and businesses who also took home accolades for their contribution to delivering memorable experiences.
Tessealaar Kabloom 2022 won gold in the major festivals and events category at the annual awards ceremony held by the Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) at Centrepiece Melbourne Park on Thursday 1 December.
The Kabloom Festival kicked off in Autumn 2018, but has only run for three years since due to the pandemic.
Fields of autumn flowers brighten Tesselaar’s fields during the festival for 28 days in March and April, with entertainment, culinary delights, souvenir shops, lawn games, a guided tractor ride or a pleasant fresh mountain air stroll around the fields also available for punters to enjoy.
With 70,000 visitors in 2022, Tesselaar’s Managing Director Paul Tesselaar predicts Kabloom will give the famed and long-running Tulip Festival, held around September, a “run for its money”.
“It was unexpected because we go to those events having made a submission, but without knowing what award we would win… we’re absolutely ecstatic that we’ve got it, and I think it’s a fantastic event, so it should be picked up there with the best of them,” Mr Tesselaar said.
“Like the Tulip Festival, what we provide here is an opportunity for Melburnians to have a special day out up in the hills… they can escape their daily lives of the grind of being down there – and their concrete jungles.
“Once you get inside the gates, you experience a totally different utopian world, because we’ve got the fields full of colour, have some special entertainment… the crux of it is is giving them the opportunity to come and enjoy nature and all the special area up here has to offer.”
111 submissions were made to the Victorian Tourism Awards this year, all vying to be recognised as a bronze, silver or gold award recipient across 31 various categories.
Healesville Sanctuary received gold in the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island Tourism Experiences category, with silver nod to Yering Gorge Cottages and Balgownie Estate in the Self Contained Accommodation category and Business Event Venue categories respectively.
Four Pillars Distillery was named a finalist in the Tourism Wineries, Distilleries & Breweries category.
Mr Tesselaar said it is “wonderful” to know others in the Yarra Ranges region are having success as well.
“The more attractive we can make the region, the better and the more prosperous everyone in the region will be,” Mr Tesselaar said.
Visitors to the Tesselaar Kabloom Festival in 2023 can also expect more wild flower displays and more sunflowers as festival organisers continue to add more elements to the event each year.
“All the roles are important from management right through to the person that makes the coffee, the person that clears the table, or the farmer that actually plants the plants and tends to them,” Mr Tesselaar said.
“It’s a win for the entire team.”
Victoria Tourism Industry Council Chief Executive Felicia Mariani said the awards showcase some of the most compelling experiences in Victorian tourism.
“VTIC is proud to deliver such an important event for our industry, that highlights the innovation, passion, and professionalism that our operators exhibit every day in creating magical moments for their visitors,” Ms Mariani said.
“We congratulate all our Gold, Silver and Bronze category winners, along with all of this year’s finalists, who represent the exemplars across Victoria in delivering excellence to their guests.”
For the full list of winners and finalists, visit https://www.vtic.com.au/victoriantourismawards/winnersandfinalists/
