What’s happening?
The 2026 Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers was officially launched on April 23.
The 77th Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers will run from Friday, September 18 to Monday, October 5, 2026.
Cr James O’Shea, Toowoomba Regional Council Environment and Community Committee Chair, announced the dates during the launch.
The carnival will open with Floral Friday on September 18.
The Grand Central Floral Parade will follow on Saturday, September 19.
Grand Central will support the parade for its 30th year.
The second Feastival will run on September 26 and 27.
The final weekend will include the Weekend Table from October 2 to 5.
It will feature eight food experiences across the region.
The second Paw Parade will be held on October 4.
Cr O’Shea said the website is now live, with tickets on sale.
He thanked the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers team, including Wendy Greens, Kate Scott, Paul Reynolds and Nick Howes.
“I think it’s really, really important that we understand and acknowledge that there’s many hands go towards making a Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers what it is,” Cr O’Shea said.
He said the carnival belongs to the whole community.
“This is a carnival that belongs to everybody,” Cr O’Shea said.
Why it matters?
The carnival remains one of Toowoomba’s major tourism and community events.
Cr O’Shea said the event still reflects its original purpose from 1949.
He said it was first launched by Essex Tate and TJ Jewell.
The event promoted Toowoomba’s garden city image.
It also gave local businesses an economic boost after the hardships of war.
Cr O’Shea said that purpose remains clear in 2026.
“It is an event that belongs to everybody in this community,” Cr O’Shea said.
“It’s an event that means so much to everybody across our community.”
He said the carnival remains linked to local pride and business support.
“What rings true about this event is again it’s about promoting our garden city image, our garden region image, and it is also a terrific economic boost to our business community,” Cr O’Shea said.
He also linked the event to current cost-of-living pressures.
“We stand here today and we all know the pressures of cost of living, we know of course different turmoil that’s happening across the world,” Cr O’Shea said.
“So here again this event will be a terrific economic boost to our community.”
Local Impact
Mayor Geoff McDonald said excitement starts building as the seasons change.
“Look, the excitement really does start to build when we get through autumn, when we see the change of the seasons, we see our gardeners, our council gardeners out doing what they do,” Mayor McDonald said.
“So, so meticulously getting things organised for five months away now for the 77th Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers.”
He said the event includes many community groups and residents.
“And of course this encompasses many community organisations, many individuals, all of which are heavily invested in making our community shine in spring,” Mayor McDonald said.
Mayor McDonald said the 2026 carnival would highlight the region’s natural beauty and local businesses.
“This year is set to be another brilliant showcase of all things that are great in our region,” Mayor McDonald said.
“Be it the natural beauty and be it those businesses that get involved and open up their cafes, restaurants, and accommodation, everyone gets a real boost when it comes to Carnival of Flowers.”
He encouraged locals to support the event.
“It’s our time to shine and we’re really looking forward to it,” Mayor McDonald said.
“All I can do is encourage our locals to get in behind it, love it, community loves it, visitors love it, it’s our time to shine.”
Toowoomba Regional Council CEO Sal Petroccitto OAM said last year’s carnival delivered strong results for the city.
“As the newest CEO to the city, I’m really looking forward to my second Carnival of Flowers,” Mr Petroccitto said.
He said the event helped local businesses and drew more visitors from outside the region.
“Over that period we had families, we had people, we had increases in overseas and interstate visitation,” Mr Petroccitto said.
“This year, what we’re hoping is that we can get an increased number of our local people to come to this wonderful event as we continue to promote the wonderful things that this activity does.”
By the numbers
- Last year’s carnival brought more than 500,000 people to Toowoomba, a record result up 9 per cent.
- Mr Petroccitto said organisers hope the 2026 event can “even hit the 550,000”.
- Last year’s carnival supported 119 local businesses, helping spread visitor spending through the city.
- Nearly 80 per cent of event spending went to the local community.
- Mr Petroccitto said every dollar spent generated about $20 in economic value, with nearly $31 million brought into the region and Queensland economy.
Zoom In
Feastival is one of the key events in the 2026 program.
Early bird tickets are now on sale for $20.
“Tickets are on sale now for Feastival, $20,” Mr Petroccitto said.
“What a fantastic Mother’s Day present.”
Cr O’Shea said Simon Tuohy, Dominique Rizzo and Nornie Berrow will headline Feastival.
“So again, some great excitement around that,” Cr O’Shea said.
“And of course, great local music with a few surprises along the way with that as well.”
He said the gardens remain the centrepiece of the carnival.
“And of course, the centrepiece of it, as always, are the gardens,” Cr O’Shea said.
He also recognised private gardens, the Chronicle Garden Competition and exhibition gardens.
The Grand Central Floral Parade also remains one of the main public events.
Cr O’Shea said Grand Central’s 30th year of support was “an incredible, incredible level of support”.
Zoom Out
The carnival has grown from a post-war parade into a major regional event.
The first parade in 1950 attracted more than 50,000 people.
It now brings together gardens, food, family activities, music, pets, volunteers and local businesses.
Mr Petroccitto said the carnival is a major source of community pride.
“This is an iconic regional event, something that we all should be proud of, something that we all should get behind because it generates that community spirit,” Mr Petroccitto said.
He said the event also brings together the wider Toowoomba region.
“I’m looking forward to my second Carnival,” Mr Petroccitto said.
“I’m looking forward to how our 36 towns, our wonderful city, our wonderful Toowoomba regions gets involved in this fantastic event.”
He summed up the visitor message clearly.
“Come for the flowers, stay for the experience,” Mr Petroccitto said.
What To Look For Next?
More program details are expected as the carnival gets closer to September.
The confirmed program already includes Floral Friday, the Grand Central Floral Parade, Feastival, Weekend Table and the Paw Parade.
Cr O’Shea said the carnival usually includes “upwards of 80 different community events”.
Those events include community groups, gardening clubs, quilting clubs, floats, displays and decorated businesses.
Cr O’Shea said that local involvement is central to the carnival.
“Look, it takes a whole community,” Cr O’Shea said.
“You see the volunteers that get behind it. You see the people who want to be a part of it.”