Celebrity chef and dessert powerhouse Anna Polyviou joins
Thirsty Merc, Pete Murray, Kate Ceberano and James Reyne
to bring rockstar status to 75th Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers
The 75th Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers will come alive for four blooming weeks,
from September 13-October 7, opening with three days of Festival of Food and Wine, from September 13-15.
You can toss the keto and low-carb diets out this Spring when TV's powerhouse pastry chef Anna Polyviou drops into the famous Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers with her JAW-DROPPING sugary creations.
The punk-pastry powerhouse, and former Creative Director of Pastry at Sydney's Shangri-La Hotel, is the PERFECT FIT for the Festival of Food and Wine, with her distinctive hot pink mohawk, quirky urban street style, and vibrant personality. She will lead Farm to Fork demonstrations when Queens Park becomes home to many taste sensations during the three-day Festival. Fans will be able to watch the pastry queen as she prepares a Basque Cheesecake, Cheese & Charcuterie Baguette, and some mouth-watering Cookie Dough Pies.
A guest judge on Network 10's MasterChef, Anna will bring a wealth of experience to festival foodies, with two cookbooks and a raft of prestigious awards such as Australia's Hotel Chef of the Year and Pastry Chef of the Year under her chef coat. She has serious global culinary cred, having worked in the world's best kitchens such as the Pierre Herme Patisserie in Paris and London's Claridge's Hotel. Her brand of edible COOKIE DOUGH has been a hit with Australian families because it does not contain eggs, meaning you can eat it straight from the container – brilliant! With her larger-than-life Greek heritage and desserts which look better suited to GOMA, this much-loved chef and dessert degustation darling is going to be a huge hit this September.
The Festival of Food and Wine will showcase more than 35 local food and wine offerings, including 15 pop-up cellar doors, cocktail bars, beer, wine and cheese tasting stations, the sellout Botanical Society VIP area, and of course, popular flower crown making stations. There will be sessions from Hopscotch and Pechey Distilleries, wine from Nuova Scola and Jester Hill, and cheese tastings with Bunya Cheese.
SO – mark the diary and book somewhere to stay, because this year's Festival of Food & Wine is bursting with sounds, sights, and sensational bites. Tickets are ON SALE NOW!
Thirsty Merc, Pete Murray, Kate Ceberano and James Reyne set to rock Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers!
Australian music favs bring the soundtrack to the Festival of Food & Wine
Joining sugar goddess Chef Anna Polyviou is a knockout line-up from some of the country's best in music for the Festival of Food & Wine, from September 13-15.
Thirsty Merc, Pete Murray, Kate Ceberano and James Reyne will join other leading and local sound-makers at Queens Park's sumptuous celebration for all things food and wine.
Pete Murray, known for his hit songs "Better Days", "Feeler", "So Beautiful" and "Opportunity" says his music continues to serve as the soundtrack for so many of his fans. "I've always prided myself on writing good lyrics, and I'm respected for what I write because my songs tend to make people think about where they are compared to where they wanna be in life," Pete said. "There's no greater appreciation for your song than your lyrics keeping someone alive; that's just the best thing you could ever hope for."
In a new approach this year, Friday night will bring the DJ beats so everyone can let their hair down and join the dance floor to kick-start the Carnival party. Featuring Yuggera-artist dameela and chart topping Mashd N Kutcher, these live DJ sets are going to be spectacular in the parkland setting.
HERE'S THE FEATURE MUSIC PROGRAM:
Friday, September 13 from 4pm to 10pm
- merci, mercy
- dameeeela
- Mashd N Kutcher
Saturday, September 14 from 11am to 10pm
- Bullhorn
- Thirsty Merc
- James Reyne
Sunday, September 15 from 11am to 8pm
- Yacht Rock Revival
- Kate Ceberano
- Pete Murray
MEET THE MUSIC MAKERS
Thirsty Merc
Sydney indie-rock group Thirsty Merc formed in 2002, with original lineup: singer/guitarist Rai Thistlethwayte, guitarist Matthew Baker, bassist Phil Stack, and drummer Karl Roberston. They hit the ground running with debut EP, "First Work", notching hit singles "Wasting Time" and "Emancipate Myself." But their breakthrough moment came in 2004 with their self-titled album, which generated hits "My Completeness" and "Someday, Someday", cracking the Top 20 ARIA charts. In 2005, "20 Good Reasons", peaked at ARIA's #4, selling more than 35,000 copies and snagging them ARIA Gold. Matt Smith joined the lineup in 2010, replacing Matthew Baker. Thirsty Merc has sold more than 200,000 albums.
James Reyne
His songs have provided the soundtrack to endless Australian summers and James Reyne is one of Australia's finest singers and songwriters, responsible for iconic songs such as "Reckless", "The Boys Light Up", "Beautiful People" and "Lakeside". Distinctly Australian – as legendary critic Ed Nimmervoll noted, "His voice is as familiar to us as the taste of Vegemite, as essentially Australian" – James was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1996 and was honoured with the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2014. He has had 19 Top 40 singles – including six Top 10 hits – and 11 Top 10 albums. And his songs have been covered by a range of artists, including Paul Kelly, John Farnham, Mick Thomas and Angie Hart. James' latest album, "Toon Town Lullaby" is his 12th studio album.
Kate Ceberano
Kate is Australian music royalty with 30 albums, including 11 x Platinum and eight x Gold. She has 10 x Top 10 albums, 15 x top 40 singles, four x ARIA awards, and more than 6000 live performances. And now she's coming to Toowoomba! Her debut with 1980s funk-pop group I'm Talking brought Kate's jaw-dropping voice to the nation's attention and snatched them five x Top 20 singles. That album led to stages as historic as Live Aid and Australian Made and is enshrined among Rolling Stone's Top 200 Australian Albums of All Time. Then there's Kate's record-breaking run with John Farnham in Jesus Christ Superstar, her triple Platinum debut solo pop album, "Brave", the Platinum-selling jazz album, "You've Always Got The Blues", and her 2014 induction into the Australian Songwriters' Hall of Fame. Last year, Kate was celebrated with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Australian Women in Music Awards.
Pete Murray
Pete Murray is one of an elite group of Australian artists who has sold over 1.2 million records across his illustrious, 20-plus year career in music. He has achieved three ARIA chart-topping albums to date, and has been nominated for a whopping 17 ARIA Awards. Renowned for his meaningful song writing, Pete's songs cut to the core of the human experience. His string of hit singles "Better Days", "Feeler", "So Beautiful" and "Opportunity" are just a few of his hits, which continue to soundtrack the life of many of his fans.
Bullhorn
A formidable nine-piece hell-bent on good times, armed with trumpets, trombones, saxophones, drums, the mighty sousaphone and the massive presence of Roman MC, Bullhorn have whipped audiences into a frenzy at venues and festivals throughout the world. Combining virtuosic musicianship, crazy arrangements, catchy grooves and upbeat rhythms, Bullhorn are an acoustic force of nature – high energy, live and real!
dameeeela
Melding music and memory, dameeeela brings out the nostalgia in each of us in clubs and festivals across the continent. She blends genres to create trademark collages of sound. As a Queer Blak woman, dameeeela's selections are shaped by her perspectives. These perspectives illuminate the communities she comes from, propelling their sounds from underground into the spotlight. Her performances are always in conversation with her audience, creating a musical dialogue of continued care.
Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers 2024
13 September to 7 October - tcof.com.au
Since its inception in 1949, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers has flourished and is now an iconic Queensland event. The brainchild of Essex Tait and the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce, Carnival was introduced as a way for the city to use its "Garden City" reputation to promote increased economic activity following the hardships of war. On 21 October 1950, the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers commenced with a street procession that stretched three miles in length. Led by a bullock team and watched by a crowd estimated to be 50,000 strong, it was a resounding success, as it has been ever since.
