The Kings Park Festival marks the beginning of spring, which is especially welcomed by those of us in the southern part of the state who have been battling through the cold and rain of winter.
There is no stronger symbol of spring than the natural canvas of colour wildflowers paint across the Western Australian landscape. WA boasts more than 12,500 flowering species and it’s astounding to think that over 60% of them are found nowhere else on earth.
We love what Australian Geographic said about our wildflowers.
“They’re the quintessential Aussie battlers, digging their roots into WA’s sandy soils and thriving.”
So it’s no wonder that the Kings Park Festival, which runs the entire month of September, is expected to welcome more than half a million people this year to experience exhibitions, seminars, guided walks, performances, native gardening workshops and installations, most of which are free.
More than 25,000 native plants and hundreds of wildflower species will be in bloom during the festival.
Lotterywest CEO Susan Hunt said the Kings Park Festival is a star on WA’s community events calendar.
“The Kings Park Festival brings our community together to celebrate WA and our rich floral biodiversity in such a spectacular and colourful way, and in beautiful Kings Park - one of the world’s largest city parks,” said Ms Hunt.
“There are lots of family activities for everyone to enjoy.
“We are proud to support this wonderful community festival.”
Lotterywest has supported Friends of Kings Park since their establishment in 1993, providing 28 grants totalling over $13 million which went towards the construction of infrastructure around Kings Park including:
- a volunteer hub;
- The Place for Reflection, a secluded and contemplative space available to the community; and
- a world-standard outdoor wilderness area of natural bushland and wetlands providing experiential learning, play and enjoyment.
Image courtesy of Kings Park and Botanic Garden. Credit: J Thomas.