Dahlia and Rose Festival attractions blossoming

24 February 2010

BY ROSS MOIR

THE Portland Dahlia and Rose Festival, in the Civic Hall on March 6-7, will prolong the festive season in the far south-west, coming hot on the heels of the Heywood Wood, Wine and Roses Festival.

The Portland-based festival draws interest from all over Victoria and South Australia, and last year they even had a visitor from England.

This year, judges are coming from South Australia to lend their experience, and competitors are as varied as the flowers, coming from as far away as Berry (SA) and Shepparton.

Local entries always number well, but thanks to the efforts of organiser Colin Donehue there are six schools involved in the children’s section this year, and he encourages the children to experiment in their gardening efforts.

While competitors plant dahlia tubers in October, the final preparations for the festival begin two days before the event. Flowers from the schools come in Friday afternoon and the other competitors’ submissions arrive Friday night to be prepared and displayed ready for judging.

New to the festival this year will be a display of quilts by the Portland Pioneer Quilters, as well as a display of roses from Treloar Roses, and an outdoor market on Sunday with a variety of cakes, plants, and craft available.

The Portland Dahlia and Rose Festival will be housed at the Portland Civic Hall, in Bentinck St, on March 6 and 7. The display will be open between 11am and 5pm Saturday and 9.30am and 4pm Sunday.

For more information, or to help with the cleanup on Sunday evening, call Mr Donehue on 5523 2953 or Alf Hardingham on 5523 5878.